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I Think I May Have Saved A Life Tonight


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Wow, Bill, you did an amazing thing. I've always wondered if I would freeze up in a situation like that, or keep my cool. Now you know you can keep calm and stay focused. I can only imagine how grateful your neighbor must feel!

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It is very strange, in the moment (and the immediate aftermath) is was all easy and good. No problem.

 

But now? Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotions. To be honest.

 

Bill

You did an amazing thing. I did CPR once. It was scary afterwards. I was cam and collected in the moment., but afterwards...

 

Hugs.

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Thank you all for the support. It would be a little more "normal" if I were not alone. 

 

Feeling better. Had a moment. Like Scrooge or George Bailey, "what if you were not there?" Strange mix of gratitude and terror.

 

Not completely alone. I have my faithful dog Chester at my side. It is just about to get dark and I'm doing to hang out an make sure he's cool with the fireworks.

 

Bill

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I bet her family is really glad you were there today.  Good job for remaining calm and doing what needed to be done and saving her life.  Adrenaline let down is a weird thing.  I think it's totally normal to feel a whole range of emotions after something like that.

 

By the way, I don't think your post title should be "I think I may have saved a life tonight."  It should be "I saved a life tonight."  Because you did.

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BTW - my son had to repeatedly do the Heimlich on me one morning.  Afterwards I was the shaky one - not just because of what physically happened to me - but because I was so shaken up at a teen having to do something like that on his mother.  (Just the weight of the "responsibility" if it hadn't have gone right.)

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BTW - my son had to repeatedly do the Heimlich on me one morning.  Afterwards I was the shaky one - not just because of what physically happened to me - but because I was so shaken up at a teen having to do something like that on his mother.  (Just the weight of the "responsibility" if it hadn't have gone right.)

 

You know Jean, I just don't have a full sense of perspective yet...but after being there for a dear friend, I can only imagine what it meant to your boy to be there for his mother. It is something.

 

Bill

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It is very strange, in the moment (and the immediate aftermath) is was all easy and good. No problem.

 

But now? Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotions. To be honest.

 

Bill

 

This is actually very normal. Process it and thank God you were there.

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It is very strange, in the moment (and the immediate aftermath) is was all easy and good. No problem.

 

But now? Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotions. To be honest.

 

Bill

 

That's how I felt during and after a particularly dangerous and unexpected event.

 

You might consider a drink to calm the nerves. A good quality drink, just one. Take your time and really savor it. 

 

It took me a while to not be "jumpy" about a repeat experience when the environment looked like it could be ripe for it. I just mean to suggest, don't be alarmed if you are extra watchful or antsy when eating with people, especially older people. It'll pass. 

 

Enjoy the anticipation of telling your wife she's married to a hero.  :coolgleamA:

 

Well done.

 

:)

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So following Albeto's advice I rummaged though the liquor cabinet and discovered I had a wee bit of a very outstanding 12 year old Irish Whiskey that was a gift from the aforementioned friends. Redbreast. I'd been saving the the last for a special occasion. This is it.

 

And, by some miracle, there are a bunch of professionally shot clips from the Grateful Dead's Fare Thee Well performances last week in Santa Clara up on YouTube. 

 

https://www.youtube.com/user/RadioChildRecords/videos

 

Things are looking up :D

 

Bill

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That is one of those skills that is so good to have even as you hope you never have to use it. I'm glad she is well and that you were there!

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Cheers indeed!
I once Heimliched a kid while volunteering at a Christmas party in a public school first grade classroom.  The kid couldn't speak because he was choking on a piece of hard candy.  The teacher saw that he was choking but flipped out and didn't know what to do.  I had the same response as you - calm in the moment, did what needed to be done, then shaky once it sunk in.  I was lucky that I'd seen it done once, many years before.  It took me a few days to process all the feelings and the "what if"s.  Talking to the school nurse the next day helped a bit.  (She only worked at the school on Wednesdays; the kid choked on a Tuesday.)

Apparently the kid still says to my kid, when, now and again, they run into each other, now eleven years later, "Hey, your mom saved my life." I've never met his parents.
It's very scary to consider the "what if"s.  It made me have a much deeper appreciation of the fragility of life, but also the sturdiness of life, if that makes sense.  
 

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It is very strange, in the moment (and the immediate aftermath) is was all easy and good. No problem.

 

But now? Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotions. To be honest.

 

Bill

 

I hope you can talk to someone in real life. That is a stressful event even if it turned out well. Thank you for doing what you did.

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Gosh, Bill, I think it would be odd if you didn't feel a shiver over it. So glad you were there! But to think about how it might have gone if you hadn't been... yeah, that's understandably frightening. Good for you for being attentive and bold. I hope your neighbor doesn't experience any lasting effects from the incident.

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Congrats to you for being cool and calm, when that was needed, and for being successful and saving a life!    We have a page on the door of our refrigerator, showing how to do that. It has been *many* years since I last took a first aid course. Congrats again and God Bless You.

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You know, this a really rewarding vent to read as I wake up this morning. ;)

 

Really glad you were there for the moment.

 

For the future... I always tell kids in my classes to avoid having serious medical issues while in my class as my first aid certification goes back to my AF days and is definitely out of practice if not also out of date.  I'd try if needed, but there's no guarantee.  Perhaps you should announce this when you go places in the future?   :lol:

 

Oh wait!  You're NOT out of practice...  :hurray:

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It is very strange, in the moment (and the immediate aftermath) is was all easy and good. No problem.

 

But now? Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotions. To be honest.

 

Bill

 

Bill,

 

I understand this feeling.  Some people react well in an emergency and some people don't react at all.  You Sir, reacted! Great job!!  

 

I have been on two oversea deployments (Iraq and Afghanistan) and have seen soldiers, myself included, in situations where they must react or suffer grave consequences.  Those moments are surreal and it's the aftermath of those moments that are the hardest.  Even saving a life, such as you did, is a very surreal moment that everyone reacts differently to.  Your response was awesome! and you would be a good person to have around in future emergencies.  More than likely this is who you are, calm under pressure.  Yes, your aftermath feelings are normal.  Trust me.  

 

You will always remember the moment of this dinner with friends, but relish in the fact that you reacted.  That will help with any feelings of "what if" you may have to overcome.  Just thank God the "what ifs" didn't happen.  

 

You Sir are a hero.  Thank you for being there for your neighbor.   :patriot:  

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Bill,

 

I understand this feeling.  Some people react well in an emergency and some people don't react at all.  You Sir, reacted! Great job!!  

 

I have been on two oversea deployments (Iraq and Afghanistan) and have seen soldiers, myself included, in situations were they must reach or suffer grace consequences.  Those moments are surreal and it's the aftermath of those moments that are the hardest.  Even saving a life, such as you did, is a very surreal moment that everyone reacts different too.  Your response was awesome! and you would be a good person to have around in future emergencies.  More than likely this is who you are, calm under pressure.  Yes, your aftermath feelings are normal.  Trust me.  

 

You will always remember the moment of this dinner with friends, but relish in the fact that you reacted.  That will help with any feelings of "what if" you may have to overcome.  Just thank God the "what ifs" didn't happen.  

 

You Sir are a hero.  Thank you for being there for your neighbor.   :patriot:  

 

Thank you for your service. And your kind words!   :patriot:

 

Bill 

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Cheers indeed!

I once Heimliched a kid while volunteering at a Christmas party in a public school first grade classroom.  The kid couldn't speak because he was choking on a piece of hard candy.  The teacher saw that he was choking but flipped out and didn't know what to do.  I had the same response as you - calm in the moment, did what needed to be done, then shaky once it sunk in.  I was lucky that I'd seen it done once, many years before.  It took me a few days to process all the feelings and the "what if"s.  Talking to the school nurse the next day helped a bit.  (She only worked at the school on Wednesdays; the kid choked on a Tuesday.)

Apparently the kid still says to my kid, when, now and again, they run into each other, now eleven years later, "Hey, your mom saved my life." I've never met his parents.

It's very scary to consider the "what if"s.  It made me have a much deeper appreciation of the fragility of life, but also the sturdiness of life, if that makes sense.  

 

 

Makes sense  :001_smile:

 

Bill

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So I drifted off to sleep, and YouTube must have been in some autoplay mode, so sometime in the night I woke up 2hrs and 14 minutes into a 1990 Grateful Dead show at Shoreline (06/16/90) listening to a very trippy Drums>Space.

 

Must say, it was one of the best nights sleeps I had in a long time. Still enough Irish left for at least one or maybe two special occasions if I keep to such wee amounts.

 

Off to take Chester for a run. Thanks again for the kind words everyone. That was a strange experience to have, and then suddenly be alone. You all helped me "process." Thank you for that!

 

Bull

 

 

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It is very strange, in the moment (and the immediate aftermath) is was all easy and good. No problem.

 

But now? Feeling a little overwhelmed with emotions. To be honest.

 

Bill

That's how my daughter felt last weekend when she saved a child(from drowning, not choking).  In the moment and afterwards all easy and good.  But later when things had quieted down and she had time to actually think it over she was overwhelmed with the enormity of it.  A week later she is back to it mostly being all good but every now and then it still hits her, the what if she hadn't been there.  What if she had not listened when I yelled her name and pointed. etc.  

 

Good job on staying calm in the face of a crisis.  I highly recommend taking a first aid course to learn how to safely do the heimlich if ever needed again as well as cpr and other first aid things.  I have been taking mine since I was 15, and my teens both have taken it, 11 year old wants to next year.  So worth the weekend of training to learn first aid, cpr and aed operation.  

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So I drifted off to sleep, and YouTube must have been in some autoplay mode, so sometime in the night I woke up 2hrs and 14 minutes into a 1990 Grateful Dead show at Shoreline (06/16/90) listening to a very trippy Drums>Space.

 

Must say, it was one of the best nights sleeps I had in a long time. Still enough Irish left for at least one or maybe two special occasions if I keep to such wee amounts.

 

Off to take Chester for a run. Thanks again for the kind words everyone. That was a strange experience to have, and then suddenly be alone. You all helped me "process." Thank you for that!

 

Bull

 

I'm glad you and your neighbor have both recovered!  

 

Didn't you also save a woman from some gang of thugs?   I remember something about driving up in your car and you had a machete....?   

 

 

 

 

 

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I'm glad you and your neighbor have both recovered!  

 

Didn't you also save a woman from some gang of thugs?   I remember something about driving up in your car and you had a machete....?   

 

Good memory. Yes I once had to fly my Trooper into an alley to rescue a woman from an ugly gang assault.

 

Good thing I'd just come from getting my machete sharpened (I had some banana plants that needed trimming). Maybe I have good timing?  :D

 

Oddly, the experience with the neighbor upset me more than rescue (which left me unfazed). Weird.

 

Bill

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So I finally spoke with my wife, who'd spent the night deep in the Vermont county-side where the "pink" telecom has no cell service.

 

She was shaking on the other end of the line. These are really very dear friends to both of us. She worries about them. I may have earned some bonus points with her. And isn't that what men really live for? Bonus points with the wife! :D

 

Bill

 

 

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Ramadan kareem.

 

Bill

 

Thanks....half over.  The last 10 days begin on Wednesday.

 

You reminded me, from a Muslim standpoint, saving a life during Ramadan? Doesn't get much better than that in terms of good deeds. :)

 

I've gotten something caught in my throat before.  There was nobody at home except for one of my young kids.  It is so terrifying.  I was able to dislodge it, but I definitely feel for your friend and know how grateful she must have felt.

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