Bystander CPR on the Island Princess

[thyme2go]

I'm becoming more and more convinced what a rare breed those of us are that act when emergencies happen. I'm more disillusioned now than ever by the "I'll just watch" attitude. For me, just watching will leave me with many more nightmare's and guilt than doing what I can to help someone.

 

Yes, I have 'helped' and not been sued or dragged through the mud. In fact I was thanked. I was behind a driver who was drifting into oncoming traffic on a two lane road. Yup, you guessed it...the person drifted right into a car with a mom and son and BANG.......mom was pinned by the steering wheel and unmovable until JOL arrived. The child was trying to catch his breath. I stabilized him on the ground as he was having a hard time breathing. I turned him to his side (thinking he needed to vomit) and he found he could breathe and talk a bit. Laid back and same thing happened again so moved him to his side and held onto him in that position. Yes, I KNOW that is not stabilizing his neck!!! But it was what allowed him to breathe and I did it knowing it was not 'protocol'.....but it worked. Medic's arrived and transported him to the hospital. The family later told me the ER doctor said I saved his life by turning him on his side and how rare it would be for someone to do that because it is not protocol. The child had been sleeping in the car with the front seat reclined and the seatbelt/shoulder strap on. The accident had thrown him into the seat belt and damaged his throat and voicebox......that was what was obstructing his airway. Being able to breathe was the only way he stayed alive because these were internal obstructions---no visible external trauma. Did I know this diagnosis? No.... I did what seemed to work and the ER doc admitted that protocol was not appropriate in this situation.......

Thank you again to all who help in emergencies and don't look at these situations as a spectator sport.........that is one of the best traits about our species. That when we choose to help, it can make a difference.

Also......don't recline your seat while in a moving car! That was the lesson I learned and would have never thought it could be a problem!!

Edited May 9, 2014 by thyme2go

[automagrt]

This may be true on their thought process but I think it is sad IMO.

 

As stated earlier, I work on a college campus and we had AEDs prominently put in logical areas in each building on our campus. They have probably been there for 7 years or so. I asked our nurse if they have ever had tampering problems and she said not once. We want them to be in logical areas so that if anyone needs to use it, they are available. It may be used by a guest/visitor attending a basketball game and not someone who is a regular on our campus but if they see someone who needs it, we want them to have access to it.

 

It is sort of like saying "we hide our fire extinguishers as we don't want people to play with them".

 

If that is truly the mentality, they will lose more people then what the minor (if that) inconvenience of tampering has. They should probably set what their priorities are.

 

The scary thing about AEDs is that there was a big push to put these everyone several years ago. I did read an article last year that many of them are not being maintained (replace batteries, etc...) and this is a huge issue. A business can't just put these out and forget about them - someone needs to check them periodically (I think monthly is what the article said).

 

I think that's why many have gone by the wayside. Everytime the AHA changes something, the AED's have to be updated, which is an additional expense. There's also period maintenance and testing that need to be done. All of which I imagine are a logistical nightmare on a fleet of cruise ships traveling the globe. Not to mention that with medical staff always on duty and able to get anywhere on the ship within a few minutes, there's less need to need have them everywhere as opposed to a college campus or shopping mall. Obviously that didn't happen in the OP's case but I imagine this is an isolated incident and delays in response happen all the time. It's an unfortunate reality. And just because there are AED's available doesn't mean they'll be used. There was a recent case at an airport where a bystander did CPR while waiting for EMS. An airport police officer that showed up didn't know what it was or where one was located.

[sunshine426]

Why it took me two weeks to write Princess I don't know. No excuses offered. I did write today and will post when they respond back to me.

[lone_stranger]

I think that's why many have gone by the wayside. Everytime the AHA changes something, the AED's have to be updated, which is an additional expense. [Does that mean they won't save someone's life, if they aren't the latest and greatest?] There's also period maintenance and testing that need to be done. [Fire extinguishers have to be maintained periodically also. If they can maintain one, why not the other?] All of which I imagine are a logistical nightmare on a fleet of cruise ships traveling the globe. Not to mention that with medical staff always on duty and able to get anywhere on the ship within a few minutes, there's less need to need have them everywhere as opposed to a college campus or shopping mall. [Wouldn't they be just as valuable to the medical team?] Obviously that didn't happen in the OP's case but I imagine this is an isolated incident and delays in response happen all the time. It's an unfortunate reality. And just because there are AED's available doesn't mean they'll be used. There was a recent case at an airport where a bystander did CPR while waiting for EMS. An airport police officer that showed up didn't know what it was or where one was located.

 

Just my two cents. I would rather that they be available, if needed. There is no guarantee that someone with CPR knowledge will be available when needed. Unfortunately, excuses do not save lives.

[nellydean]

I have no knowledge about these matters onboard Princess ships, so I will just say: Well done, sunshine, for saving this woman's life.

 

I am on the Emerald next week and, God forbid, if something like that happened to me, I would want someone like you around to help.

 

Emergency life saving equipment aside, the scariest thing for me is that the crew did nothing to help, and scarier still if they have been told not to, as a general rule, due to potential litigation.

[sunshine426]

I heard back from a Princess Representative last week. She assured me that they had received my comments and were evaluating the concerns. Especially the lack of AEDs. She had a comment from another guest who noticed that there were none in the gym.

 

She also told me that she would be in contact with more information as this goes forward.

[pablo222]

I heard back from a Princess Representative last week. She assured me that they had received my comments and were evaluating the concerns. Especially the lack of AEDs. She had a comment from another guest who noticed that there were none in the gym.

 

I specifically look for them on carribbean. I got excited when I thought

I saw one in the gym, but it was a fire extinguisher.

[lone_stranger]

I heard back from a Princess Representative last week. She assured me that they had received my comments and were evaluating the concerns. Especially the lack of AEDs. She had a comment from another guest who noticed that there were none in the gym.

 

She also told me that she would be in contact with more information as this goes forward.

 

Thank you for continuing to follow up with this. It is very much appreciated.

[moresun]

I heard back from a Princess Representative last week. She assured me that they had received my comments and were evaluating the concerns. Especially the lack of AEDs. She had a comment from another guest who noticed that there were none in the gym.

 

She also told me that she would be in contact with more information as this goes forward.

 

Please continue to keep us updated I am sure many remain interested,I know I am.

[wineglass]

My wife and I were on the Sun Princess San Francisco to Sydney a few years ago. On a month long cruise. You get to know some crew members quite well. We were having dinner on night (our table was just inside the entrance) when a man and his wife entered. She suddenly seemed to collapse. Her husband was tring to hold her from falling. Our eater told the hear waiter to call medical, but no one helped them. Finally our waiter said we are not to touch any guest for any reason, but I can't stand this and went to help the gentleman just in time. Finally they showed with a wheel chair and she was wheeled away. Apparently she had had a seizure. We put in a commendation for our waiter . He had been told to do nothing except call in such a situation, but luckily ignored that direction. So don't expect medical assistance from any crew member except the medical staff