CPR

In keeping with the "pulse" theme of the last post, I thought I'd let you all know that today I was (re-)qualified for CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and AED (automatic external defibrillator). I thought I'd let you know that the latest compression-to-breath ratio is 30 compressions to 2 breaths (it was 15-2 when I was in my high-school health class, and I think 5-2 when you had two-person CPR, but it's now 30-2 in all cases). Also, the AED is a pretty nifty device, but is an additional tool to be used during cardiac arrest, not a replacement for CPR. And it's not a toy, and should be used carefully. If someone else is touching the body of the cardiac arrest patient when it sends the shock, it can be the cause of death for the person touching the body (as he/she may receive the shock intended for the patient, causing his/her heart to go into a bad rhythm, and then that person is out of luck because the AED is already in use on the first patient and likely doesn't have a spare set of pads to be used on the second victim!). Of course, during my turn at giving CPR to the dummy, I forgot the head tilt/chin lift, but was able to cause the dummy's chest to rise anyway with my breaths, so I guess the airway was open already. Oops. Hopefully I'll never have to use the training we got today (especially on you, my loyal reader, as there's no guarantee of success, and I'd hate to lose you both as a CPR patient and as a reader!). Also, I hope I don't get in trouble for sharing this info - I'm not a qualified instructor, just qualified to perform CPR. But as our instructor said: "Bad CPR is better than no CPR."

In other news, we still haven't fixed the Lexus, so we're a one-(working-)car family at the moment. This isn't easy, as my wife and I tend to work slightly different schedules (she typically doesn't work past two in the afternoon). But we're getting by so far. Hopefully we'll have a second vehicle ready to go soon. You know, in some ways it seems a shame that we've allowed ourselves to become so dependent on vehicles. Oh well.

Since some of you may have missed the passing comment in one of my earlier posts, I thought I'd mention the public library as a video "rental" place again. You may want to check out your local public library's video rental section (I assume they have one) - it's a great way to get movies to watch for free. Granted, they'll typically only have one copy of any particular video, but then again, your local movie rental store typically only has one copy of older movies, too. The library may not have the absolute latest release like your rental store, but the cost is infinitely better - free! You also can often find older releases on VHS that are no longer carried by Blockbuster or other rental stores which have moved exclusively to digital media (DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, etc.). On top of everything else, if your library is part of a network of libraries (such as the Huntsville-Madison County library system), they can transfer items from more remote locations to your local branch, usually for free or for a small fee. And if you go get the video from the remote location, you can usually return it to your local branch for free (at least that's how it works in the Madison County library system). And it's also a great place to get books to read that you'll likely read once and then never touch again... you don't have to pay $6.99 + tax (or whatever, more if it's a hardback) at your local bookstore and then have the book cluttering your house once you've finished it. I did that with a Xanth book not too long ago (I've read all the books in that series with the exception of Air Apparent, the latest in the series - I'll have to look for it when I return the latest set of movies we borrowed from the library). After all, your tax dollars are paying for the library, right (I could be wrong here - but if not, who does?)? Why not enjoy it?