First aid in the bush
By Special Correspondent - The Chronicle-Journal
4 Jun 2005 by Jessica Bjorkman
I am lying unconscious, soaking wet, on a sloping rock at the water’s edge. My rescuer, Steve Fleming, is monitoring my slow pulse and slow breathing and treating me for severe hypothermia. I fell out of the canoe right before we landed.
The people in the canoe with me were struck by lightning on shore and have various “conditions” of their own. Cat has a ruptured ear drum and cannot hear anything; John has a large stick embedded in his left arm; Jessica has no pulse, and Christine has acute stress reaction (often mistaken for true shock).
A boat passing by saw this whole scene and came in to help. At this point I am trying to stop shivering (someone with severe hypothermia is beyond shivering) and I am trying not to smile. Mike Webster, our instructor, has to yell twice to the family in the boat that this is only a simulation.
This is our fourth and final day of the Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) course certified by Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA). There are 15 students who have gathered at Gunn Lake Lodge near Kenora to take this intensive course.
Mixed with lectures, hands-on practical simulations, and studying at night, the course strives to prepare us for emergency situations when the nearest hospital is three days away.
“We want you to get away from only memorizing each step in first aid. We want to supply you with the information, the medical skills and judgment to understand what’s going on with your patient and to make a critical decision,” Mike told us the first day.
As well as being our instructor, Mike Webster is executive director of Canada’s branch of WMA, based in Hamilton, Ont. He has worked in locations such as Grand Canyon National Park in the United States and Antarctica. His jobs ranged from search and rescue to wilderness sea-kayak guide to paramedic.
Besides his skills in applying make-up and dreaming up scenarios for our simulations, Mike kept a good sense of humour throughout the whole course.
Most of the students took the course for personal interest and because it is attractive to employers in the tourism industry. The majority of students were in the Outdoor Recreation program at Lakehead University. Jeff Faulds, a Grade 6 teacher at Red Lake Madsen School, says he took it “to promote experiential education and for added safety prevention in the field trip setting.”
I took it because I am guiding adventure tours in the winter. I also work prospecting and claim staking year-round in the bush. For any person spending a lot of time working or playing in the bush, this course is highly recommended.
A standard first aid course assumes you can dial 911 and an ambulance is on its way. The reality of a wilderness situation is that even a helicopter evacuation could be hours to days away.
The course was a definite success. The students had nothing but good to say about their experience. Despite the hard work, the lodge setting gave us time to get to know each other. We even had time to relax in the sauna at night — spiked with a few jumps in freezing cold Gun Lake. Sally Kendall, owner of Gun Lake Lodge, prepared delicious home-cooked meals. All 15 students graduated. Scott Green, owner of Green Adventures, sponsored the course. He hopes to make the course an annual event. If interested in future courses visit Green’s website at www.greenadventures.ca www.greenadventures.ca or to learn more about WMA and the many courses they offer, visit their website at www.wildmed.com
By Special Correspondent - The Chronicle-Journal
4 Jun 2005 by Jessica Bjorkman
I am lying unconscious, soaking wet, on a sloping rock at the water’s edge. My rescuer, Steve Fleming, is monitoring my slow pulse and slow breathing and treating me for severe hypothermia. I fell out of the canoe right before we landed.
The people in the canoe with me were struck by lightning on shore and have various “conditions” of their own. Cat has a ruptured ear drum and cannot hear anything; John has a large stick embedded in his left arm; Jessica has no pulse, and Christine has acute stress reaction (often mistaken for true shock).
A boat passing by saw this whole scene and came in to help. At this point I am trying to stop shivering (someone with severe hypothermia is beyond shivering) and I am trying not to smile. Mike Webster, our instructor, has to yell twice to the family in the boat that this is only a simulation.
This is our fourth and final day of the Wilderness Advanced First Aid (WAFA) course certified by Wilderness Medical Associates (WMA). There are 15 students who have gathered at Gunn Lake Lodge near Kenora to take this intensive course.
Mixed with lectures, hands-on practical simulations, and studying at night, the course strives to prepare us for emergency situations when the nearest hospital is three days away.
“We want you to get away from only memorizing each step in first aid. We want to supply you with the information, the medical skills and judgment to understand what’s going on with your patient and to make a critical decision,” Mike told us the first day.
As well as being our instructor, Mike Webster is executive director of Canada’s branch of WMA, based in Hamilton, Ont. He has worked in locations such as Grand Canyon National Park in the United States and Antarctica. His jobs ranged from search and rescue to wilderness sea-kayak guide to paramedic.
Besides his skills in applying make-up and dreaming up scenarios for our simulations, Mike kept a good sense of humour throughout the whole course.
Most of the students took the course for personal interest and because it is attractive to employers in the tourism industry. The majority of students were in the Outdoor Recreation program at Lakehead University. Jeff Faulds, a Grade 6 teacher at Red Lake Madsen School, says he took it “to promote experiential education and for added safety prevention in the field trip setting.”
I took it because I am guiding adventure tours in the winter. I also work prospecting and claim staking year-round in the bush. For any person spending a lot of time working or playing in the bush, this course is highly recommended.
A standard first aid course assumes you can dial 911 and an ambulance is on its way. The reality of a wilderness situation is that even a helicopter evacuation could be hours to days away.
The course was a definite success. The students had nothing but good to say about their experience. Despite the hard work, the lodge setting gave us time to get to know each other. We even had time to relax in the sauna at night — spiked with a few jumps in freezing cold Gun Lake. Sally Kendall, owner of Gun Lake Lodge, prepared delicious home-cooked meals. All 15 students graduated. Scott Green, owner of Green Adventures, sponsored the course. He hopes to make the course an annual event. If interested in future courses visit Green’s website at www.greenadventures.ca www.greenadventures.ca or to learn more about WMA and the many courses they offer, visit their website at www.wildmed.com
