<p>
	If you want to read one good news story today, let this be it. 10 rounds of CPR before he got a response; never give up! Well done Christy!<img alt="" src="/user_files/images/Christy Griffin.jpg" style="width: 250px; height: 285px; float: right; margin: 10px;" /></p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	&quot;When asked to write this piece I was a little bit apprehensive as I don&rsquo;t take praise easily. My name is Christy. Late last June, I updated my First Aid skills with Social Care Training Ireland as part of my work as a Social Care Worker with Daffodil Care Services.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The week leading up to Christmas week, I was with an elderly relative doing a few odd jobs around his house. A great man for the cup of tea, we went inside and had a cup. As we finished up and went to go from the kitchen to the sitting room he collapsed straight in front of me. At first I was in shock but then my First Aid training kicked in and I went into the steps that I had previously learned, checking for signs of breathing and heartbeat; to my shock there was neither. I immediately rang for an ambulance and began CPR. I remember thinking how will I explain it to my family if &ldquo;I cannot get him back&rdquo;. I was determined to keep going until the ambulance arrived, after about five rounds of CPR I was starting to lose hope but kept going, and it payed off; on the tenth round of CPR I got a response and had a heartbeat and then my relative started to breathe for himself again, the relief was indescribable. I put him in the recovery position and waited for paramedics to arrive. It was only when he had gone to hospital and I had time to think that it hit me, I started to shake and cry all at the same time: tears of joy.</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	The above event brought my First Aid training right back to me. For successful recovery, the first two steps required are early Access, and early CPR. This was oh so true in this case as if my elderly relative had been on his own, he would not have survived. Before this event I had refreshed my Occupational First Aid training under the expert eye of Bernie Breen, one of the instructors with Social Care Training Ireland. Bernie is a first responder in her own community, so who better to learn from? I suppose the lesson to be learned from the above event is the importance of being confident in knowing basic First Aid and how you can make a massive difference in someone&rsquo;s life. It&rsquo;s not about self-praise but about giving someone a fighting chance that they may never have got without your help. This is not an advert for Social Care Training Ireland but I owe them at least a mention. I have been involved in First Aid for a long time, but the training that I received from Bernie was second to none; it helped build on the confidence that I already had and it certainly paid off. Thank you Bernie. I almost forgot, my elderly relative came home Christmas Eve and is fine and is still giving me a hard time because I broke two of his ribs while doing CPR!</p>
<p>
	&nbsp;</p>
<p>
	I would urge every member of the public to learn CPR as you never know when you may need to put it to good use. I know I said this was not an advert but you could do a lot worse than to give Social Care Training Ireland a call; they do not only train Social Care workers, it&rsquo;s only one string to their bow.&quot;</p>
