Wanted: Time Machine?

After a long time. Long enough, that I barely remember.Finally, I registered for a First Aid and CPR Course.

It took me a completely empty summer schedule and a subtle unintended reminder from a close friend who is an EMT to remind me of this hankering. I know it seems very petty for me to heigthen the dramatic usage of words only to arrive at my first aid course experience. Well, if you know me at all, you would understand that my decisions are usually ushered by a reason.

I’ve never really told many people about this. But, I was one of those cursed people who watched their family members die right next to them. I was twelve when my grandmother had a cardiac arrest while sleeping. Completely hopeless, I just called for help. No one told me about CPR or prepared me for such circumstances. All I could do was sit there and watch my parents take over.

Funny how that incident has been buried under other memories over the decade. Today in class, Dr.Rashid somehow pointed at me and asked what would I do if I saw someone having a cardiac arrest and not breathing. By now, the answer was already programmed, CPR.

Two things happened throughout my course. I learned a lot about the Malaysian mentality when it came to learning about First Aid, and I was reminded why I wanted to be a doctor in the first place. My close friends would know that, I really wanted to be doctor at one point of time. (I promise I paid full attention during class!)

The Malaysian mentality:

There is a lack of awareness when it comes to these skills among Malaysians. I was enlightened today during class that the typical mentality is call 999 (Malaysia’s version of 911) and everything will be alright. Truth is, time is so limited that waiting for an ambulance to arrive is not going to make any difference. Humans’can only surivive 4 minutes without oxygen and a typical ambulance arrival time is far beyond that four minutes. Same thing goes to choking, rushing to your nearest hospital is not going to be helpful if your friend is literally suffocating in the back seat.

Some of my lucky friends who has been a member of Red Cross or St John Ambulance is often exposed to these circumstances. What happens if you’ve been living the rock and not knowing what to do. The worst part is no one understance the importance of these knowledge until you are in a time of need.

Doctor once:

Following SPM (Malaysia’s most importance public examination), I wanted to be a doctor. For some unknown reason, I’ve always had a strong urge to be a doctor. I myself never knew why. Perhaps I was a victim of the typical “Indian Holy Trinity of education” mentality (Doctor, Engineer and Lawyer). Do anything else from these courses and you’d be considered a failure by some Indians. Perhaps it was my subtle upbringing, watching my dad work in a hospital has somehow rubbed on me. Or maybe, it was the countless number of House, Sanjeevni or ER that I watched growing up.

Took me two years to realize that I wanted to be a doctor because of the practical knowledge it brings. Think about it, as a doctor you have the knowledge to save a life. You would never have to watch helplessly when someone is in danger. To some extent, I understood that a being a doctor is indeed a gift because you have the largest ability to help. Would you not sleep in peace everyday knowing you made a difference?

Of course, that’s the bright side of it. In reality, the classes are painful, the experience of loosing a patient could be haunting, and the burden of “knowing” can sometimes be too much. Today, I consider myself lucky that I did not end up pursuing a medical profession.  I have friends who often complain about the superfluous workload and expectations on them. More than that, I realized that I do not need to be a doctor to make a difference in a person’s life.

Please forgive my deep reflection. I am laughing at how I started from first aid and then pivoted to a completely different topic. Even now, as I am typing this, I’m undecided whether to share this piece. To some of my friends, the first aid course is literally no big deal. But, I hope that someone reading this would be inspired to learn it and that in turn might come in handy one day in making a difference.

For all of my friends intending to attend medical school or those who are already there, please take time to reflect on your reason for this life. I hope I affirmed some of your thoughts or at least made you think again. Please feel free to drop some comments on the shoutbox on the right column.

Regards,

YOLO.