I am a WFR!!!

PRACTICING RESCUE BREATHING 

After 10 fun filled long days of class time & studying and being educated about wilderness safety, I can successfully say that I am a certified wilderness first responder, a step down from an EMT. This class was one of the coolest classes I have ever taken. I learned so much and feel so accomplished.

The first couple days we learned about patient assessment and what steps you take when encountering a traumatic scene. They teach you to size up the scene first and make sure you ask your self is it safe? Then they have you assess the patient after you get consent and go through a number of other steps. And let me tell you, when they put it in real scenarios, it really gets   

The Splint Lindsay made on me. 

interesting. We had to go out 2 nights, and one it was raining. My vicitim rolled an ATV and had a stick through his arm, he was screaming at the top of his lungs, and he fell down a mountain about 20 feet, so I had to stabilize his spine and splint his arm. Not only that, you need to stay calm in these situations, and focus on what you need to do, what is most important.

My favorite part about the class was meeting people, people from all over. You really get to know these peeps, you sit in class with them for 10 hours a day for 10 straight days. Everyone is coming from different backgrounds of work too, so its interesting to see what everyone does. I meet some cool people. Now- heres the question, what am I going to do with my wfr? I've been thinking about going back to school to be a nurse. I loved administering the shot. I don't know why i found it so rewarding to stick a need in someones arm, but it was totally up my alley (and no I am not a heroine addict.) That is something I definitely need to think about. A nursing program would be like 16 months long. Wilderness Therapy is another option I have been looking at, but you spend a lot of time away from home. 8 days out, 6 days home. There are a lot of wilderness therapy jobs in Utah too. You can do it with your significant other, so that could be an option for Gabe and I in the future, but most people who I talk to about that, have a pretty high turn over rate, a year being the average for most. It would still be fun experience. No matter what, I will carry skills from this class in my head forever. I loved it!!