Yesterday, I set out to prove that even the visually impaired can learn CPR.
OK, really, I just thought I should do it for myself... no big points to make. But I was curious how it would go.
In preparation for becoming a dad, I decided to sign up for an infant/child CPR class. I had a couple of phone conversations with Red Cross people to let them know that they were getting a partly blind student, and unlike the folks at the tutoring agency, they did not act as though I was from another planet. One of them even told me that had had legally blind students before. Score.
Sure enough, when we went around and introduced ourselves (all five of us), no one blinked when I said I was partially blind. They did applaud when I said I would be a father in April. Oddly enough, the same people got into a discussion later where they (rightly) said that you need to take a test for everything in life, except becoming a parent. I don't know what accomplishment they were applauding... fertility? But it was nice to get some smiles.
The training itself was easy and surprisingly fun. As promised, the instructor read every relevant part of the booklet aloud -- that just seemed standard -- and trusted me to ask questions when I needed to. As it turns out, there's no aspect of CPR that I can't see: as long as you can tell if a chest is rising with breath, everything else involves the other senses. The whole process is pretty tactile, which is great for me. Plus, with such a small class, she was able to come over and correct me when I had something completely wrong... which she did just as much for the other students. It's good to feel normal now and then.
At the end, she was about to leave us to take our written, multiple-choice tests when I asked if I could take mine orally. I think she had just forgotten, and after a little jockeying around outside, someone arrived to very clearly and patiently read each question and the possible answers, and he even filled out the answer sheet for me.
It took the instructor about ten seconds to grade the exam. Now, I was always a straight-A student, so this was a matter of pride for me. She handed me my card, which mean I had gotten at least 80%... but that's a B-. I had to know.
"So how did I do?" I implored.
"You got one hundred percent."
Wow. I mean, sure, the answers were pretty obvious, and most of the time the answer was D (all/none of the above), but still... a 100% score is a rare thing.
I proudly signed and took my American Red Cross card, stating that I was certified to perform infant and child CPR and to use an AED machine. It was 2:43, and I hadn't eaten a thing since 9:00 in the morning... so I took my card to the closest place where I could both eat AND possibly put my life-saving training to the test:
McDonald's.
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