KQED | Science and Nature: First Aid Stories


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First Aid Resources: Stories

Listen to these stories of ordinary citizens using first aid skills in the city and in the wilderness.

Crash Test
Martin Jonikas was putting a cover on his car outside his San Francisco apartment late one Friday night when he heard a crash from nearby Highway 101. The UCSF molecular biology graduate student had recently completed a wilderness first aid course. After spying a limp body fall out of a mangled car along the median, Martin climbed through a hole in a fence and carefully made his way across three lanes of traffic to provide assistance. Hear Martin describe what it was like to put his skills to the test, including the things he wished he had done better.

Listen now (3:28) RealAudio

The Breath of Life
Len Finocchio had run a little more than half of the Kaiser Permanente San Francisco Half Marathon when he came upon a fellow runner on the ground: a young woman unconscious and bleeding from the mouth. A certified emergency medical technician, Len immediately began mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, despite the blood. The first few moments after respiratory arrest are the most critical, and doctors later credited the CPR administered by Len and another helper with saving the woman's life. Hear Len tell about the one time he was happy not to finish a race.

Listen now (3:26) RealAudio

Backpacking Bump
KQED-FM reporter Judy Campbell's face was covered in blood. In shock, she didn't even realize she was bleeding from the fall that had cut her forehead to the bone. Miles of hiking away from professional help, Judy was fortunate that the only other person in the Mokelumne Wilderness that day was her husband Cary Weigle, a former Eagle Scout--something Judy no longer teases him about. As they tell their story, Judy wonders: what would have happened if the tables had been turned?

Listen now (4:45) RealAudio

Candy causes approximately 19 percent of choking-related emergency department visits in the U.S. by children ages 14 years or younger. (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Daddy to the Rescue
One moment, the Liu family is in vacation mode, walking through a Tokyo airport. The next moment, 6-year-old Irene can't breathe, as the round hard candy she was happily sucking on is now lodged in her throat. After a few terrifying moments, Irene's father saves her life by performing the Heimlich maneuver that he had recently learned during a workplace first aid training. Twenty years later, KQED-FM health intern Irene Jay Liu asks her parents Paul and Eni to relive the incident.

Listen now (3:08) RealAudio

Life of a Lifeguard
Every two weeks, the lifeguard team at a Livermore pool gets retrained in lifesaving techniques. Melissa Dudum-Maya, 20, says that despite the intensity of being always on alert for situations that most likely will never happen, she can't imagine a better summer job. Hear Melissa describe the life of a lifeguard.

Listen now (3:41) RealAudio

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