Caleb Causey of Lone Star Medics returned to KR Training on February 4, 2017 to put on his Dynamic First Aid course. I like to describe Dynamic First Aid as “First Aid 102”. That is, First Aid 101 is things like dealing with cuts and Band-Aids and such first-aid fundamentals. Dynamic First Aid continues from there talking about dealing with severe bleeding (tourniquets, pressure dressings), shock, burns, splinting, scene safety, and the like. It’s a great course and I think one everyone should take.
Yes, everyone.
In one of my first interactions with Caleb years ago he made a great point. He asked the class how many people had seen a gunshot in the past year? No hands go up. Then he asked how many people had seen a car wreck in the past year? Hands go up. Don’t you think that’s a situation that may warrant first aid skills?
And think about simple things like cuts, or nosebleeds – solving those are first aid skills! The preservation of life isn’t just about “self-defense”; first aid is very much a part of that, and essential skills for all people to possess. Because we ALL encounter such issues at some point in our lives.
Something else to think about? There are people that believe when things go pear-shaped they will rise to the occasion. That may happen, but in a first aid situation? Explain to me how you will rise up and suddenly have the knowledge of how to stop severe bleeding? or administer CPR? You won’t. These skills and knowledge will not just come to you: you must have taking the time to acquire them beforehand.
I made it one of my 2017 training priorities to get more non-gun skills, like medical training. But this class became a little different for me: I wanted my family to take it. And yes, Wife, Oldest, Daughter, and Youngest all attended and participated in the class. Yes, Dynamic First Aid is suitable for children, but within reason. For example, part of first aid has realities of body parts; so if there are issues with words like “penis” and “vagina”, they may not be ready for the class. That’s something I admire and respect about Caleb: he called me before class and wanted to check on all of this. His sensitivity towards his students is part of what makes him a great teacher.
Class
Class ran well. A good and motivated group of students. Caleb balances the class well. There’s a time for lecture, a time for demonstration, and then a time to have everyone practice and try it for themselves.
What’s especially good? The class culminates in some scenario training. This is invaluable training, because it not only forces you to put your knowledge to work, but it adds some pressure and realism to make you have to think.
I also find scenario work to be a good source of inoculation, so when problems happen you don’t freak out but instead can handle the situation with some degree of aplomb. For example, in one scenario Wife was a resucer and Youngest was a victim. When Wife saw Youngest, she was truly shocked and broken up at the sight, but went to work because that’s what Momma has to do. Afterwards, Wife told me how it was hard for her to see it, but I told her it was good because now if something does happen to Youngest, instead of emotions taking control of her, she can know that she’s seen it before, that she’s got the skills to address the problem, and she can get to work.
That’s why such training is so important, and I’m so thankful that Caleb puts a high value on scenario training in his classes.
Get out and do it
Get the knowledge, get the skills. You don’t know when you may need first aid, but I feel safe in saying that you will at some point in your life – you just don’t get to choose when, so it’s important to have that knowledge beforehand.
My family is one of the most precious things to me. I’m willing to put their well-being in Caleb’s knowledgable and proficient hands. If you get a chance to train with him, you should.
Thank you for teaching me and my family, Caleb. Drink water.
Stuff From Hsoi 
That is a great reminder John. You NEVER know when you will need to use “102” level or higher first aid skills. As a former EMT I keep a well stocked med bag in my truck. We often shoot in a very remote part of North Texas. The wait for help can be deadly if somebody were to suffer a GSW without any way to mitigate.
So sometime last fall I was sitting at my desk, I work from home, when I hear a female voice screaming for help. At first I was like Hurh?? Then I hear her calling out again. I poke my head outside to assess what is happening (what tool do I need? Gun? Medical? Call 911? What?)
What I see is a man sitting on the ground bleeding profusely from his head. Med bag! Rush to truck grab bag, go over to see what I can do.
Dude had a seizure and whacked himself on the stucco covered pillars holding up the stairwells. Got a doozy of a laceration on his forehead bleeding like mad. The wound was a torn flap of skin easily 1.5″ wide and 3/4″ tall. His mother was the lady yelling for help. Another neighbor came up and just stood there….
After a quick assessment I gloved up, grabbed two rolls of kerlix and took the T-shirt away from the wound and wrapped him up. I directed the other neighbor to call 911 and while treating the dude helped to calm the mother down. Got the bleeding stopped and just asked some questions to see if he was alert and oriented. I do not have a neck collar so I just had the mother sit there and hold him and his head upright.
After a short while Medic 22 rolled up and I handed off to them.
Clean up. Go back to work. Refill my supplies.
Last Friday I was getting my mail when a lady asked me if she could ask me a question… Sure… “are you the man who helped my son when he fell?”
Yep. that was me. I thought she was going to cry. She thanked me and thanked me etc. Then her son came along and also thanked me. His head healed up ok. You could see the scar. 19 stitches he tells me.
You never know when you will need these skills. I did not do this seeking anything. Dude needed help and I got a good bit of personal satisfaction out of doing that small bit. Those folks expressing their gratitude was un-needed and even made me feel a little uncomfortable but I was very happy for a good outcome for the young man.
John good on you for getting your kids that training. Maybe even then they can be heroes too!
Mike: that’s an excellent testimonial to the importance of medical skills. Nothing tactical, nothing crazy here — just someone falling and having a severe bleed as a result.
If people don’t want to like guns, that’s fine. If people don’t want to “prep”, that’s fine. But the more I go down the road, the more I start to feel like some level of first aid skills should be “required education” for all citizens. Not that I’m going to start mandating anything, but just it’s such a vital and important thing — and what if you weren’t there and only your other neighbor was?
And good on you for being a good neighbor, too. 🙂
You make a good point. I agree there should be some training in the schools. When I was in grade school, back in the stone age, we had electives we could take for PE. (Believe it or not one elective was shooting air-guns. Yea, I took that class!). While I am not a fan of making too many things mandatory perhaps some sort of 102 (or 101+) level FA courses should be offered.
I see far too many people just stand there. Or worse, walk around somebody obviously in distress.
And here I sit thinking about this and the 30+ years that have passed since I got my Certs. I may be time for a refresher course.
Making things mandatory doesn’t really get us anywhere — skills like this pay off more when people can see the benefits, the whole “what’s in it for me?”. And to that I say, that someday YOU may be the one in need of aid, so wouldn’t it be nice to be surrounded by people that could possibly help? So the way to get that to happen is to start being one of those helpful people.
My friend Paul Martin http://www.prepperdepot.org has been working on his EMT cert. I don’t have the time to invest in that level of training right now, but I greatly admire him for what he’s doing.
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