BUKAL OUTDOOR CLUB is
one of just a very few outdoors group that I know of who took very seriously
their interest of visiting mountains, hiking and camping. They are striving to
equip their members to stock knowledge from seminars, when available, and they
are very cooperative with each other. To remember, they have taken wilderness
survival training from this writer last May 13-15, 2017 and I want them to
learn more.
Fortunately for them,
the Camp Red Bushcraft and Survival Guild is hosting another Wilderness First
Aid training on November 11, 2017 but it is not confined to their members only.
I invited Bukal Outdoor Club to participate in this activity. Instructing again
for the third time is Shio Cortes, formerly of Cebu PDRRMO but now has his own
outfit – Strategic Options Safety Solutions. Assisting him are Val Cruz III and
Christopher Ngosiok. All are registered nurses.
This is a rare
opportunity for Bukal Outdoor Club to learn from people who know their business
well since this is an open event. We start from Napo after a short motorcycle
ride from Guadalupe. The day is perfect and warm. We will be on a short walk
only to a place where I recently host several outdoor activities. It is a small
open plain found beside the Sapangdaku Creek but it is totally safe and high
enough from a flood.
We arrive there at
09:00 and choose a ground under the shade of star apple trees. Everybody formed
a semi circle facing Shio, Val and Christopher. 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 as Locate, Access, Stabilize
and Transport or LAST. Then he distinguishes the difference between Search and
Rescue as against Search and Recovery.
Christopher demonstrates
how the Primary Assessment is performed by assessing first the scene of the
incident and the manner by which the victim was found. When examining patient,
if unconscious, is to feel the airway for signs of 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) elevation and
(c) applying 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 it 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 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 muscoskeletal 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.
A slight downpour
interrupted our activity and everyone took a break preparing their noontime
meal. Ernie Salomon, Jhurds Neo and Jonathan Apurado prepared food for the
participants. Food served were grilled pork, mung bean soup, cucumber in
vinegar 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 promote good
appetite.
After lunch,
laminated-nylon sheets are then made available to the participants to try the
patient assessment among themselves. By now, rain have stopped and “patients”
are now more willing to be scrutinized like Atty. Rany San Juan of MEZ II and
Atty. Bruce Ragas of POPCOM VII. From patient assessment, the participants
practiced immobilizing injured parts and applying splints.
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 Val Cruz III and we presented
to him our token of appreciation, courtesy of the club president, Jhurds Neo.
Likewise Christopher Ngosiok will have his token soon on an unspecified date.
We were fortunate that they have pushed on again with this event even when they
have very busy schedules and the activity was threatened again by a downpour.
Bukal Outdoor Club 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. The
training would be very useful to Bukal Outdoor Club as they will embark on a
five-day 56-kilometer segment hike of the Cebu Highlands Trail from Mount
Manunggal to Mount Babag to Lutopan on November 30.
Document
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1 comment:
Thank you for thiis
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