Just Asking Can Help

Sometimes, it doesn’t take a medical degree to begin a diagnosis.

I’m the first to say don’t try to fix everything on your own. And for goodness sake, don’t try to self diagnose on the internet….for if you search enough, you will find exactly what you “want” to her (either that everything is alright, or that your terminal).

However, sometimes you need to ask the right question, to know if you need to get help. You may have seen the messages circulating, about How To Know When To Suspect A Stroke. Also, consider the recent story of a Maine Legislator who was saved, simply because one of her colleagues was paying attention. Sometimes, we just need to ask the right questions, and pay attention.

Many of you know I have worked as a sports official for a number of years. About ten years ago, I was working as Third Base Umpire at a tournament in Cooperstown, New York. It was a warm night, and as the game moved along, I became aware that the Home Plate Umpire was taking a little bit longer to call balls and strikes. Originally considered a “style difference”, the hesitation in calls became longer. One pitch he didn’t even call, and just stood up. I called “time”, and walked into home plate, to discover my partner had a little bit of a glazed look on his face. He knew his name, but little else, and was progressing through the stages of heat exhaustion. We had the medical team there withing minutes, and we finished the game while he was making his recovery. Had we let it continue unnoticed, it’s likely he would have simply collapsed with a much greater medical emergency.

Pay attention to your surroundings, and to people’s behavior. Ask “Open-Ended” questions that require a response other than, “Yeah”, or “Fine”, if you suspect something may be amiss. Not everybody needs medical treatment, but it never hurts to try to rule it out.

 

Newport Enterprises highly qualified instructors are experts in teaching a full range of healthcare courses, including CPR Training, First Aid Training, BLS Training, and ACLS training. Each course follows American Heart Association guidelines. Newport Enterprises provides training for the Northern Virginia area including Ashburn, Fairfax, Sterling, Herndon as well as nearby Frederick, Maryland.