In December I completed the Wilderness First Aid that is offered by Solo (Stonehearth Open Learning Opportunities). This was in preparation for the Philmont trip in June/July. The adults needed to be certified in Wilderness First Aid, so we would have the background to handle any issues that occur while we are in the back-country.
What a fun course! It has been a number of years since I took a first aid course. Wasn’t sure what to expect, but I was not expecting the course to be so interesting. With the focus being on the back-country, where medical services are typically hours away, the course covered topics that is normally left for medical professionals. Restoring circulation for a broken limb, de-crumpling a person who has fallen and learning about clearing a head-neck-spine injury were some of the topics we covered.
I have to say that the course really boosted my confidence to be able to handle the situations we may face while we’re in the back-country. If you every have the opportunity to take a wilderness first aid course, even if you are not a outdoors type of person, there is a lot you can learn.