Wilderness Emergency Medical Trng
Donation protected
I am asking for your help. I plan to obtain my Wilderness First Responder Certification. This requires 10 days of classroom and field training with simulated river rescues and nighttime recoveries. It is an intense 10 days, but 10 days to hone my existing know-how while providing me with additional skills, so I am better able to serve others and reduce the chances of a family being torn apart prematurely through an unfortunate situation.
School tuition, meals, lodging, travel (by my personal vehicle), and equipment costs will be approximately $3,000. Although I will be taking vacation to attend the course, I cannot afford this amount and need your assistance. I would like to attend as soon as possible to turn around and be able to help others sooner. I am targeting June or July classes.
Anything you give will help and I thank you in advance for having read this:
This is my story. I perform trail maintenance on a regular basis in north Georgia and sometimes in Tennessee and/or North Carolina. The crews I work with are usually in their late 60s and even 70s.
Recently, I was co-leading a crew of 11 employees who work for a Fortune 100 company in the Atlanta area. These folks were substantially younger than the team members I usually work with. Despite having followed all of the precautions and USDA Forest Service Guidelines of talking to people about their individual abilities, health, and medical conditions, I had one very nice individual drop to the ground just as we were breaking for lunch. The Crew Leader and I performed CPR while awaiting the arrival of emergency services. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on the trail.
Based on witness accounts and after reviewing the incident in my mind over and over again, my ‘logical’ self says I did well and I did all I could do; however, my ‘emotional’ self still struggles with it at times. I am getting better as time goes on, but I am not confident the memory will ever leave me; the memory of this person or the thoughts of the challenge to save his life.
As a result of this tragedy, I have a new awareness. When I am not performing maintenance on a trail, I hike. I see people out having fun in the forest and up on the mountains. They enjoy the views, the peacefulness, the quiet…they enjoy the overall experience and beauty. They take in all of the things one cannot see from a car window. BUT, there is a serious side also. Many of these folks are weekend warriors and are not doing anything during the week to prepare themselves physically. Others are a bit older and are attempting to ‘act’ like their younger selves. Ultimately, they are putting themselves at risk. Bones become more brittle, people are not well prepared or hydrated, and their cardiovascular system is just not what it used to be. Likewise, I see parents with children. Parents do not know what to do should their children get injured. Children are truly lost if something bad happens to their parents.
As I am hiking or working on a trail, I want to help. I want to improve myself to be better prepared when called upon. I am First Aid/CPR certified, but I am no longer confident this is enough. Additional skills would not have improved the outcome of the event I spoke of earlier…but…what about the next one? What about the next opportunity I have to save a life or simply aid someone while professional help arrives out in the wilderness?
School tuition, meals, lodging, travel (by my personal vehicle), and equipment costs will be approximately $3,000. Although I will be taking vacation to attend the course, I cannot afford this amount and need your assistance. I would like to attend as soon as possible to turn around and be able to help others sooner. I am targeting June or July classes.
Anything you give will help and I thank you in advance for having read this:
This is my story. I perform trail maintenance on a regular basis in north Georgia and sometimes in Tennessee and/or North Carolina. The crews I work with are usually in their late 60s and even 70s.
Recently, I was co-leading a crew of 11 employees who work for a Fortune 100 company in the Atlanta area. These folks were substantially younger than the team members I usually work with. Despite having followed all of the precautions and USDA Forest Service Guidelines of talking to people about their individual abilities, health, and medical conditions, I had one very nice individual drop to the ground just as we were breaking for lunch. The Crew Leader and I performed CPR while awaiting the arrival of emergency services. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead on the trail.
Based on witness accounts and after reviewing the incident in my mind over and over again, my ‘logical’ self says I did well and I did all I could do; however, my ‘emotional’ self still struggles with it at times. I am getting better as time goes on, but I am not confident the memory will ever leave me; the memory of this person or the thoughts of the challenge to save his life.
As a result of this tragedy, I have a new awareness. When I am not performing maintenance on a trail, I hike. I see people out having fun in the forest and up on the mountains. They enjoy the views, the peacefulness, the quiet…they enjoy the overall experience and beauty. They take in all of the things one cannot see from a car window. BUT, there is a serious side also. Many of these folks are weekend warriors and are not doing anything during the week to prepare themselves physically. Others are a bit older and are attempting to ‘act’ like their younger selves. Ultimately, they are putting themselves at risk. Bones become more brittle, people are not well prepared or hydrated, and their cardiovascular system is just not what it used to be. Likewise, I see parents with children. Parents do not know what to do should their children get injured. Children are truly lost if something bad happens to their parents.
As I am hiking or working on a trail, I want to help. I want to improve myself to be better prepared when called upon. I am First Aid/CPR certified, but I am no longer confident this is enough. Additional skills would not have improved the outcome of the event I spoke of earlier…but…what about the next one? What about the next opportunity I have to save a life or simply aid someone while professional help arrives out in the wilderness?
Organizer
Philip Guhl
Organizer
Ball Ground, GA