After delivering a recent course, we received the following email from one of the participants.
“I wanted to tell you I had a chance to use my first aid skills on the way home last night as I saw a cyclist come off his bike and hit his head quite hard on the median (middle of the road). He of course wasn’t wearing a helmet and banged his head quite hard. He was shaken up but not bleeding and seemed okay as I asked him several questions. He will definitely have a very nasty bruise today however. I advised him to go to A&E if he felt worse (dizziness/vomiting, etc) but he said he was okay and that he would have someone at home to be with him throughout the evening should he start to feel worse. I really just checked he was okay and made sure he could get up and walk but funnily enough no one else stopped. Although I didn’t administer any first aid at least I knew he was okay and I had the confidence to stop and check. I also lectured him a bit about wearing a helmet and stop listening to his music while he is cycling as it isn’t safe.
Thanks to Dana, who was the only person to stop on a busy street in London. This shows that with a bit of training and the confidence to offer assistance, you can make the difference in what could have been a nasty head injury.