A Chance to Survive...

Last night I attended a 3 hour CPR certification class.  I thought it might be a good thing to know since I attend a lot of group fitness classes and I am also around a lot of horseback riding functions.  CPR is one of those things that nobody wants to have to use, but everyone should know.

The class was taught by a local guy who is retired from the American Red Cross but still wants to be involved with teaching the public valuable life-saving skills...

It was a very interesting class...   I learned that someone responding to an emergency who is not being paid to provide care is protected from liability lawsuits by "Good Samaritan" laws.  The instructor also said repeatedly that a person who is unconscious and not breathing is essentially dead, so anything you do to help gives them a "chance" to live.  If you do nothing, they are almost assured to die.

This reminded me of life as a farmer - an animal in distress is as good as dead.  You can help them and possibly save them... you can give them a chance.  Doing nothing gives them NO chance.  Essentially you can't HURT them because they are as good as dead.  It is completely possible that you may try to help and they die anyway, but doing nothing ensures they have no chance...

Thinking about the people in my life that I care about, I am glad that I might know something now that could give them a chance to live.  When it comes to my livestock I have been tested... I know that I have given some of those animals the chance to survive.

I hope that I am never tested to give a person a chance to live, but I will perform CPR if I am faced with the situation...  

I hope someone might do the same for me.