Knowing CPR

Nurse saves man’s life using cpr

Do You Know This Life-Saving Skill?

By Nicole Anderson

It was an ordinary day until Danya Topham’s husband, Mike began to prod her about attending a baseball game at Murray Park. Danya, an R.N. by trade, had just gotten off a long shift at the hospital and was ready for a nice relaxing evening at home. It was out of the norm for her husband to strongly encourage her to attend the ballgame, but this night was different. She decided it must be really important for her to go as she climbed into the truck, grabbing the handle and pulling the door shut. She didn’t know it yet, but that evening wouldn’t be just any night at the baseball game.

Tonight, unbeknownst to either Topham or her husband, would be one for the books—one where she would end up saving a man’s life.

As a registered nurse, saving people’s lives isn’t something that happens on a daily basis, but it does happen. Her repetitive CPR training that is required by the Intermountain Medical Center, kicked in immediately when she heard someone off in the distance shouting “call 911!” and with that, she ran across the field with her husband and son, Chase, in tow. There lay a man, 57-years-old without a pulse. He had just suffered a massive heart attack which would take four stents to heal, but without the quick action of Topham, he may not have lived to tell his story.

A video of Topham performing CPR on the man went viral and was picked up by Inside Edition, who stressed the importance of performing CPR. The video tells

Topham’s chilling story about how terrified she was that this man wouldn’t survive. The key, quick thinking and performing CPR, made all the difference in this case.

Dr. Kris Justesen at Alpine Wellness Center, has her own stories about CPR ‘what-if’ situations, but one thing we have learned about life-saving techniques, Dr. Kris stated in an interview, is that “part of something is better than all of nothing.” In other words, do something, whether that be holding the head of the patient as Topham’s son, Chase did, call 911, get in line to help with chest compressions, or be the one to take charge of the situation.

Most of us as adults have come in contact with someone who has had a life-threatening situation, whether it be a car accident, a stroke or heart attack, or a myriad of other ailments that could occur. So, ask yourself: are you the one that drives by, or are you the one that stops to help? When writing this article, I sent out a survey to 50 community members asking these three questions:

1. Are you CPR certified? 2. Are you comfortable performing CPR? 3. Why or why not?

The results of this small survey were rather interesting. I learned that 1 in 10 people is afraid of being sued if they do something wrong, and 7 in 10 are afraid of doing something wrong. Only 2% of people stated that they felt comfortable performing CPR on anyone, let alone a stranger.

Most parents said they would try to do something if it was their child, but as a community, we must ask ourselves, what if I’m not with my child? What then? What if it’s my mother or father that needs help and we aren’t with them, what then? What if it’s my neighbor?

Many states including Utah have a “Good Samaritan Law”, which states in Utah Code #78B-4-501 that:

“A person who renders emergency care at or near the scene of, or during, an emergency, gratuitously and in good faith, is not liable for any civil damages or penalties as a result of any act or

omission by the person rendering the emergency care, unless the person is grossly negligent or caused the emergency.”

So, as Gary Sorenson, an EMT in the Salt Lake Valley stated, “It’s not as hard as you think it is, you won’t get in trouble if you try, and it’s better to do something instead of nothing.”

While speaking to Topham, Dr. Kris, and Sorenson, it became evident that CPR is the key to survival when a patient doesn’t have a pulse. The American Heart Association recently released their latest statistics on stroke and sudden cardiac arrest, stating that these ailments are a public health crisis. “There are more than 356,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) annually in the US, nearly 90% of them fatal. The incidence of EMS-assessed non-traumatic OHCA in people of any age is estimated to be 356,461, or nearly 1,000 people each day. From survival to hospital discharge after EMS-treated cardiac arrest languishes at about 10%.”

When hearing the low survival rates after experiencing a massive heart attack, it is important to remember that knowing CPR is of utmost importance and can make a positive change in someone’s life. So, where do you get certified or take a class? There are lots of options available, many for a small fee. Below you will find several links to get you started in the right direction:.

• American Red Cross • CERT Basic Training • CPR Training Utah • LifeSavers CPR • Wilderness First Responder Training

Personally, I wish there wasn’t a cost to the classes because I believe that more people would attend. Money is tight and some people have the mindset “that will never happen to me,” and so they don’t sign up. It could also be made part of the driver license program, not that people would necessarily feel comfortable with it, but even a little knowledge is better than none.

Looking back at the evening events at that baseball game Topham recalls being slightly irritated that her husband parked somewhere other than where he usually parked. She was tired that night, but if he had parked where they normally did, that night could have turned out much differently. She has asthma, and if she’d had to run further, she could have been in a full-on asthma attack instead of at the ready. For whatever reason, whatever you call it; God, the universe, extensive CPR training, luck, etc., this man was supposed to live, and he is here to tell the story about how a regular person, who just happened to be a nurse and just got off work, saved his life.

THE HEALTHY KITCHEN

Tools & Gadgets For Healthier Cooking At Home

By Ted Scheffler

As we embark on another new year, many of us have made resolutions that may or may not have already gone by the wayside. Or maybe you put off making any resolutions. If so, I have one for you: How about making your home kitchen a healthier place? That is something pretty much all of us can and should do. I’m not talking here about what to eat, but rather how what we eat is prepared.

There are a lot of kitchen tools, equipment and gadgets that can aid us in eating more healthily at home, especially if your goal is to reduce the amount of fat that goes into your food. Here are a handful of my favorites:

I have to admit that I was an air fryer skeptic for years. In fact, I was militantly anti-air fryer. But then a chef friend of mine who I have great respect for urged me to give air frying a try. So I ordered an air fryer — specifically the Cosori Air Fryer — and now I’m hooked. I don’t cook everything in my air fryer, but I use it at least once or twice a week.

Air fryers aren’t magic. They are essentially countertop convection ovens that do the same thing your kitchen oven does, but on a smaller scale, and faster, while consuming less energy.

French fries are probably the most common food cooked in air fryers, because instead of dunking the potatoes into quarts of hot oil, you can make crispy, legit French fries in an air fryer using only a tablespoon or two. And I now make awesome air fried Buffalo chicken wings using a tiny fraction of the fat I once used. Less oil and fat = a big step toward eating healthier.

To prep, cook and serve food in as

sanitary way as possible, make sure you have the proper cutting boards in your kitchen. Meat, foul, seafood, and even veggies can carry germs and bacteria which can be left behind on your cutting board.

For a long time, I thought plastic cutting boards were the safest, since they are easier to sanitize and can go into a dishwasher, unlike wood ones. However, wood is antimicrobial, and research shows that wood is actually safer than plastic. Who knew?

The key is to buy cutting boards made from harder, fine-grained woods like maple, say food safety researchers. Whatever type of cutting board you use, the key to safety is in washing them properly between uses.

Sous vide cooking allows you to

cook foods that are oh-so tender and tasty at the precise temperature you want, getting rid of the guesswork of “Is it done yet?”

Not long ago, sous vide methods of cooking were very expensive, requiring pricy restaurant style sous vide machines. However, with the introduction of home kitchen sous vide tools like ChefSteps Joule and the Anova Precision Cooker and the apps that come with them, sous vide cooking is now within reach of most home cooks, making it possible to prepare everything from restaurant-quality swordfish steaks and beef short ribs, to pork tenderloins using little or no fat — all on your kitchen countertop.

Another way to reduce the amount of fat and grease you use is to grab a silicone baking mat for use in your

oven. The non-stick mats allow you to use less butter, oil and grease and ensures that cookies, roasted vegetables and such don’t stick to your baking sheet or pan.

Trying to cut down on starchy carbs? Pick up a vegetable spiralizer, an

inexpensive kitchen gadget that can turn veggies like carrots, zucchini, sweet potatoes, beets and such into nutritious meals. Spiralized carrots or zucchini make a terrific substitute for wheat and egg pastas — just top them with your favorite chunky sauces. Some good spiralizer makers include Oxo, Paderno, Mueller, and Brieftons.

Looking to get more fruit into your diet? I am fond of single-serving personal blenders like the Nutribullet, Beast Blender, Ninja Nutri-Blender, and Magic Bullet Blender for making smoothies and shakes, as well as for food prep that would normally cause you to haul out a bigger blender. Not that you have to always use your mini-blender for healthy reasons. At a Red Butte Garden concert this summer, I saw a gal using hers to make on-thespot margaritas.