Sunday, June 18, 2006
You never know
We were doing what we loved, making music.
It was an impromptu jam at a guitar shop, yours truly playing bass and a fellow picker letting rip over a 12 bar progression. The thing about such spontaneous eruptions of musical expression, even with strangers, is that sometimes it’s brilliant and other times it’s comical, but it’s always good fun.
The sound of a falling stool behind me put a stop to it. We turned around to see a fellow customer being helped onto the floor, convulsing in a fit while his arms and legs were held out stiffly in an awkward position.
The guitar and bass went back on the wall and we sprung into action. The customer in question was laid flat on the floor, still convulsing violently and starting to foam at the mouth while his bloodshot eyes rolled upwards. An awful gurgling noise was interspersed with wheezing, and a few of us were gathered around him, trying to hold him so that he didn’t hit himself on anything. Others standing by whipped out their phones, trying to contact an ambulance and his family.
The saliva that flowed out of the corner of his lips soon took on the bright red of blood, and at this point someone prompted us to turn him on his side. The religious among us started putting their hands on him and prayed out loud, while I held on to his torso and legs to keep him on his side. Frantic running footsteps resonated in the corridor as someone ran to find a doctor in the building.
The medic and doctor came and by the time we carried him to the ambulance, he had stabilized and was semi-conscious. Last I heard he was doing alright.
***
This incident prompted me to look up the courses of action to be taken in the event of someone getting a seizure, since no one in the shop was really quite sure what to do, instead relying on a mish-mash of opinions and following whichever seemed the most logical then.
So here it is, from http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/firstaid.html
DO...
Protect the person from injury - (remove harmful objects from nearby)
Cushion their head
Look for an epilepsy identity card or identity jewellery
Aid breathing by gently placing them in the recovery position (shown in the link) once the seizure has finished
Be calmly reassuring
Stay with the person until recovery is complete
DON'T...
Restrain the person
Put anything in the person’s mouth (At that time someone actually suggested putting a spoon in his mouth)
Try to move the person unless they are in danger
Give the person anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
Attempt to bring them round
Call for an ambulance if...
You know it is the person’s first seizure
The seizure continues for more than five minutes
One tonic-clonic seizure follows another without the person regaining consciousness between seizures
The person is injured during the seizure
You believe the person needs urgent medical attention
***
Someday it might be useful.
It was an impromptu jam at a guitar shop, yours truly playing bass and a fellow picker letting rip over a 12 bar progression. The thing about such spontaneous eruptions of musical expression, even with strangers, is that sometimes it’s brilliant and other times it’s comical, but it’s always good fun.
The sound of a falling stool behind me put a stop to it. We turned around to see a fellow customer being helped onto the floor, convulsing in a fit while his arms and legs were held out stiffly in an awkward position.
The guitar and bass went back on the wall and we sprung into action. The customer in question was laid flat on the floor, still convulsing violently and starting to foam at the mouth while his bloodshot eyes rolled upwards. An awful gurgling noise was interspersed with wheezing, and a few of us were gathered around him, trying to hold him so that he didn’t hit himself on anything. Others standing by whipped out their phones, trying to contact an ambulance and his family.
The saliva that flowed out of the corner of his lips soon took on the bright red of blood, and at this point someone prompted us to turn him on his side. The religious among us started putting their hands on him and prayed out loud, while I held on to his torso and legs to keep him on his side. Frantic running footsteps resonated in the corridor as someone ran to find a doctor in the building.
The medic and doctor came and by the time we carried him to the ambulance, he had stabilized and was semi-conscious. Last I heard he was doing alright.
***
This incident prompted me to look up the courses of action to be taken in the event of someone getting a seizure, since no one in the shop was really quite sure what to do, instead relying on a mish-mash of opinions and following whichever seemed the most logical then.
So here it is, from http://www.epilepsy.org.uk/info/firstaid.html
DO...
Protect the person from injury - (remove harmful objects from nearby)
Cushion their head
Look for an epilepsy identity card or identity jewellery
Aid breathing by gently placing them in the recovery position (shown in the link) once the seizure has finished
Be calmly reassuring
Stay with the person until recovery is complete
DON'T...
Restrain the person
Put anything in the person’s mouth (At that time someone actually suggested putting a spoon in his mouth)
Try to move the person unless they are in danger
Give the person anything to eat or drink until they are fully recovered
Attempt to bring them round
Call for an ambulance if...
You know it is the person’s first seizure
The seizure continues for more than five minutes
One tonic-clonic seizure follows another without the person regaining consciousness between seizures
The person is injured during the seizure
You believe the person needs urgent medical attention
***
Someday it might be useful.
# posted by BloozeGit @ 8:03 pm 
