CNN’s report on the tragic story of a five year-old kindergarten student in Marlborough, MA choking to death while on a bus ride to school was forwarded to me. 

The bus driver pulled over after being alerted of the emergency and called immediately for help. The child was reportedly choking on a foreign object. Since brain death begins to occur within four to six minutes of being deprived oxygen, EMS response time is critical. But really what is more critical is whether bus drivers, as the only adults present in this type of scenario, are trained in First Aid/CPR. School bus drivers across the nation are entrusted with the safety of our children.  Any adult who has the responsibility for caring for a child - be it for 20 minutes or for 6 hours - needs to be adequately trained in first aid/CPR and needs to be constantly refreshed on that information. Practice decreases panic. Accidents do happen. Adults need to be prepared to take care of the children in their care.

National Safety Council has recently announced an alliance with Southwest Airlines. Plans to train SW Airlines ground crew in First Aid/CPR/AED use has expanded to include training their airline’s Flight Attendants as well. Apparently Flight Attendant training is not required, which I have to ask as a more and more frequent passenger on airplanes, who is required or capable of taking care of someone who has a medical emergency while in flight? Is this a well-known fact? Is the best option: “Is there a doctor or nurse on board?”

A scenario occurred a few months ago while Allison and I were traveling to Vegas for yet another trade show. We happened to speak to our flight’s pilot prior to getting on board and he asked us about our business. We explained about our Emergency Instruction Refresher and made the comment that perhaps his airline would benefit from such a tool. He agreed and took our cards.

A few minutes later when we were ready to taxi-back, we heard that eerily familiar “Is there a doctor or nurse on board?” After asking three times, no one responded. The pilot came out of the cockpit, looked to us and asked if we had the SafetyMate. Allison shook her head “no,” pointed at MY head and said “No, but she wrote it so she knows it!”

I went to the middle of the plane where a woman was in the middle of having an epileptic seizure. No one knew what to do. One of the flight attendants was standing over her with a cup of orange juice. We got a folded blanket and put it under her head to protect it from hitting the armrest. We covered her body with a blanket in case she lost control of her bladder or bowels. Everyone was frightened and thankful we hadn’t taken off yet. Despite the fact that we were still sitting at the gate, the sheriffs did not get on board for ten or eleven minutes. Once they assessed the situation, they left and another 10 minutes passed before the medics arrived.

I was able to offer the medics information about the woman- that she did not have any medical jewelry on, that she had no medications in her bag, that the first seizure had lasted about five minutes and that she had started a second seizure.

She was taken off the plane and I hope is healthy today. This event was quite disturbing to both me and Allison as we pondered what would have happened had it been just a few minutes later - once we were in the air.

I certainly thought that Flight Attendants were trained in some way, shape or form. While I applaud SW Airlines on their step forward, I have to question why all airlines are not taking the same step.

Anthony and I attended Super CPR Saturday this weekend. In a very non-scientific poll of the people who attended, the majority of attendees were there getting trained in CPR due to a work requirement. I think in the past the only times I’ve gotten trained were for work, as well. What is it about us that makes us not want to be prepared?

We hear about the need to “be prepared” all the time in ads, on tv, in the news…yet how many people out there in California actually have an earthquake preparedness kit? How many people planned for the never-occurring Y2K scare? How many people after Hurricane Katrina now have supplies to take them through another natural disaster?

I would be interested to hear from people why you do or do not take the steps to plan for emergency. Is there anyone out there who is totally prepared, well-stocked, and ready for an emergency to happen? How about the everyone else? Any comments / thoughts / philosophies on why or why you are not prepared?