Sunday, August 26, 2012

The Catholic Defender: Spiritual Health Tips

This morning I had to report for CPR training for my job working for a local security organization. I am currently working part time at a Catholic Hospital which has been a real blessing.

One of the requirements is having CPR/AED training and certification. In the Army, it was always the American Heart Association, but today was the Red Cross.

There are some small changes in the standards from what it was a couple of years ago. Today, there is less importance on giving breaths and more on doing chest compressions.

A lot has changed over the past 27 years when I first became a Combat Medic.

The training today reminded me of the times I had actually needed to use this training to save a life. I have done this a number of times and some of them were members of my own family.

My youngest son, Jason, when he was about a year and a half, maybe two years old, was sitting in front of the television. We were watching one of those old Hercules movies when my wife had made hotdogs for the kids.

Jason had made from the hotdog bun a ball he tried to swallow when it got lodged into his throat. At first, I had not noticed the situation, but my wife sure did.

I quickly took action picking him up and holding him in my arms head down, I began to give him 5 back blows when the lodged ball popped right out and Jason was fine.

That could have been a bad situation, but I was able to use my training and it worked.

My second Son, Joshua, was swimming in Lake Stockton near Stocton Missouri as we were all enjoying a day at the lake.

It was getting near dark when I noticed Joshua was in water that was too deep for him. He was not a strong swimmer and he was struggling.

I quickly was able to get him back to shallow water and he was able to regain his composure. What might have been a terrible tragic situation, I was able to intervene and get Joshua in a safe place.

This is a dangerous situation as we are always hearing of a tragic drowing accident involving children.

All it takes sometimes is for mom or dad turn their attention for just a moment, that's how fast it can happen. Prevention is the best defense.

I was home visiting my Mother before I was to go to Iraq for the first time with the 2-5 CAV out of Fort Hood Texas. I wanted to see my Mother and family before our deployment.

On the very last day, Mother was showing signs of fatigue and was tired. She had spent a good week with us and so before we left the house, we made sure Mom had everything she needed.

She quickly fell asleep when my wife and I looked at her and it was very difficult for me. We both were in tears knowing this could be the last I see my Mother alive.

Before we left, I went inside where my Mother lay sleping offering a prayer for her. On this particular day, my Brother, Randy, came home early and found that something was happening with Mom.

We had not left town yet, and we responded quickly getting back home finding Mom was not breathing. I began giving Mom rescue breathing as she still had a pulse. I continued with the rescue breathing until the EMS arrived.

My wife, Gigi was listening for the breath sounds as I watched for the rise and fall of the chest. This worked well and my Mother would hang on for another day.

As I reflected on this, it was good to reflect on what I have known for a long time, that health is something we should never take for granted. As important as the body, how much more so for the soul. If the soul becomes sick, it is hard to find healing. It is always best to keep spiritually fit as well as physically fit. God grace found in the Sacraments are important, spiritual food that comes to us from the Catholic Faith will not fail. The more we embrace the truth of Christ, the closer we are to spiritual fulfillment.

The following is an example of caring for a choking victim, this is a great scene!


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