RAIN
IS A FACT OF life. Rain is omnipresent. It appears then it is gone
and might come back and be gone again and so on and so forth. Almost
half of the year, maybe more, it rains for a whole day and sometimes
for a full three days when weather is really that depressing. To be
honest, we cannot do nothing about that except stay indoors and count
sheep or watch DVD to your heart's content.
For
those of us who do not conform to a conventional way of thinking,
rain is something that we give respect to. Respect is not disdaining
its presence but taking it as a chance to embrace it like a brother.
If you do not respect it, you will get sick, feel cold or curse
heaven. I would rather be wet on an outdoor sortie on a Sunday than
staying under a roof and blame rain for a missed opportunity. I
would rather have my body develop a stronger resistance to the
elements by living within that context.
You
have to adjust your way of thinking by adapting to the way how nature
works. Resisting is spending for medicine and hospital. Adapting is
relishing what you do, especially outdoors, regardless of situations
and events. I cannot explain how most, born in a tropical country
besieged by strong typhoons year after year, cannot yet comprehend
this situation and rather adapt to a cinematic way of life, free of
cares and perfect weather.
Rains
have come to be part of my world and I do not mince words at it like
I used to do in my younger days. The older you get, you get to
appreciate of things great and simple, even if it had caused you
grief in the past. Rain plays a big part in all our life. It brings
blessings or it may bring inundations. I would not want the latter
but have to live with it. Yes, heavy rains have caused me misery in
the past like staying awake waiting for flood to subside while your
neighbors are blissfully asleep.
It
had rained a few hours ago on this gloomy morning of July 5, 2015.
Shio Cortes and Val Cruz III of the Cebu Provincial Disaster Risk and
Reduction Management Office will lend their time to teach Wilderness
First Aid for my wards at Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild.
This is a rare opportunity to learn from people who know their
business well and it would be unfair if I confine this activity to
ourselves and so I invited people from the Visayan Trekkers Forum
where Barry Paracuelles, Neil Mabini, Randy Alforque and Chad Bacolod
thankfully accepted.
We
start from Napo after a short motorcycle ride from Guadalupe. The
ground is wet and parts of it are muddy. We will be on a short walk
only to a place where I see a good potential to host future outdoor
activities. The name of the place rhymes as Camp Xi. It is a small
open plain found beside the Sapangdaku Creek but it is three meters
above the stream. It is totally safe and high enough from a flood.
A lone family make their living there farming adjacent hills and
selling firewood. It has a water source.
We
arrive there at 09:30 and immediately my wards set up a fireplace.
Coffee breaks the humdrum of the uncomforts caused by partly-soaked
socks. Holes on overused rubber soles seep inside like mine. My
5.11 Tactical shoes are starting to disintegrate and I am afraid I
may have to acquire a new pair. It had served its purpose well. It
had taken me from Mantalongon, Barili to Mantalongon, Dalaguete to
Poblacion, Boljoon over the rugged spines of southern Cebu last
February and May and a host of long training hikes in between.
In
the center of a flat piece of ground, a black laminated plaited-nylon
sheet is placed. Any time soon, the outdoor lectures will start. It
did start at 10:40 after a short prayer by 10-year old Michaela Lim.
I see two other minors and six college students who did volunteer
work with Camp Red on a pre-school opening outreach. This is just
amazing! All stood in a big circle, braving the rain that have
started to fall.
On
top of the plaited-nylon sheet is a black tactical-looking bag lent
to us by Cpt. Jose Gochangco JAGS (Res) of the 5TAS Brigade of the
AFP Central Command for this occasion. The bag contains all the
wonders of emergency medical response. It is an emergency medical
bug-out bag and everybody is toying with the idea of owning one even
if it is a smaller version.
Shio
starts the introduction about Wilderness First Aid. It touches on
the whole context of WFA and then the overview of emergency response
which are focused on Locate, Access, Stabilize and Transport or LAST.
Then he distinguishes the difference between Search and Rescue as
against Search and Recovery.
Val
demonstrates how the Primary Assessment is performed starting from
the sizing up and assessment of the scene of incident and the manner
by which the victim is found. First thing to do when examining
patient, if unconscious, is to feel the airway if patient is
breathing and then check pulse. Where no breathing and pulse are
felt, proceed to CPR or the cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Again
check airway. There may be obstruction of foreign objects else, if
patient is healthy but only choking, proceed to effect the Heimlich
maneuver.
If
patient is injured, proceed to the management of bleeding by (a)
direct pressure, (b) through elevation and (c) by placing pressure
points. The fourth – by tourniquet – should be applied as a LAST
OPTION only! The rule of thumb would be that the affected part where
tourniquet is placed should be released from pressure every fifteen
(15) minutes and that tourniquet should be applied to not more than
two (2) hours. Failing that, it causes suffocation and permanent
damage of arteries of the appendage.
For
this part, the participants are urged to join in and use triangular
handkerchiefs, bandannas or any other type of thin clothing as cravat
bandage to wrap imaginary wounds or to stabilize fancied dislocated
joints among themselves. Then these same cravats are used to perform
a tourniquet on each other. A more sophisticated tourniquet appeared
that could be performed by even on himself. It is called the Combat
Application Tourniquet.
Other
injuries which cause patient difficulty in their mobility are the
muscuskeletal injuries which are simple fractures and complex ones
which can be remedied by providing splints to the affected part to
prevent unnecessary movements. Immobilizing the affected part is
very important also when patient is a victim of a venomous bite. The
purpose really is to delay the suspected venom or poison to travel
quickly to the brain through the veins and arteries. Treat each bite
as venomous or, at the least, as carrying rabies.
While
the lecture went on, Ernie Salomon took care of the cooking for our
meantime meal. Jhurds Neo, Jonathan Apurado and Francelyn Quijano
assisted him. Food served were grilled pork, mung bean soup, pork
adobao and it is laid on banana leaves, along with rice, another
grand mimic of the Philippine military's popular “boodle fight”
fete. Lunch was dished out at 13:00, a trying hour of empty stomachs
yet warm enough to stave off the cold.
Shio
then takes over where Val had left and proceeds with the presentation
of the Secondary Assessment on a patient. The rain had not abated
and we see Christopher Ngosiok assume the role of the “patient”,
lying on his back on the black laminated-nylon sheet in the center of
the circle. An umbrella protects his face while the rest of his body
is exposed to the uncomforts brought by rain. This is real-world
training in a place and condition not to anybody's liking.
It
is very important to focus patient assessment from head to toe.
Examination should be very detailed and complete. Vital signs that
need to be addressed are the respiratory organs, foreign objects
inside muscle tissues and the coherence of mental awareness of
patient. If patient is unconscious, information about his condition
before the incident should be retrieved from the persons close to him
or those with him, otherwise the patient would provide you his
allergies, his medications, medical history, last food eaten or
liquid intake and the events leading to the incident.
The
black laminated-nylon sheet are then turned over to the participants
to try the patient assessment among themselves. By now, rains have
stopped and “patients” are now more willing. Fritz Bustamante
and Fritz Jay Hortelano applied what they just learned on Randy
Alforque as the “patient” coached by Shio and Val while, on the
distaff side, Faith Gomez is scrutinized by both Locel Navarro and
Abegail Villariza.
Last
topic is patient transport and packaging. First to be discussed are
the easiest and which are the most commonly practiced like the single
and the two-man carries. Then the most complex
carrying-and-packaging methods are demonstrated where you need ropes
or cords, sturdy sheets and some common everyday items. Evident of
these methods are the Daisy Chain Package and the Georgia Litter Rig.
One
improvised litter setup is using the ball cap and the small backpack
to prevent unnecessary head movement where the visor of the cap acts
as an improvised neck brace and the backpack's waist strap are used
to hold the forehead from swaying side to side aside that it acts as
a cushion to the back of the head. Officially, the training ends at
15:30 as the skies begin to show signs of rain again.
For
this life-saving activity, Camp Red is indebted to Shio Cortes and we
presented to him our token of appreciation in the form of a classic
Swiss Army Knife Camper, courtesy of the club president, Jhurds Neo.
Likewise Val Cruz III will have his token given during the scheduled
1st Cebu Search and Rescue Summit this July 29 to 31. We were
fortunate that they have pushed on with this event even under the
threat of rain and heavy rain.
Camp
Red and the rest of the participants have gained additional knowledge
in wilderness emergency response where improvisation and adaptation
would spell the difference on the survivability of a patient,
granting that professional aid and hospitals would be several hours
away. Since we are masters of expediency, Wilderness First Aid
blended well with our summary of skills and
we could not have appreciated it better except than being under the tantrums of rain.
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