3:52 p.m. - 2003-05-14
Pissy; Relieved: Local Girl Describes Cool Yet Terrifying Ordeal.
42 hours of classes, 40 hours of study, 6 exams, 5 hours of finals, 5 certifications:

Old Hat:
American Red Cr0ss Lifeguard Training and First Aid
ARC CPR for the Professional Rescuer

New Hat:
ARC Preventing Disease Transmission
ARC Oxygen Administration for the Professional Rescuer

And, the new Multistate Regional Lifeguard Test, which took all damned day, scared everyone in my class and during which one (1) of my contact lenses was lost during a cheeky, picture-perfect submerged victim rescue/CPR session. I was thrilled with how I did.

I'm still, however, virulently cross at one of the Regional testers, a pallid, bitter, rat-faced man, who instructed me (during a last-minute practice session) not to lift my hand when checking for the pulse in a newly-turned shallow water spinal injury victim. I went against my instincts and followed his odd, anti-Red Cr0ss advice and another tester docked me a point for it in the final because, quite sensibly, it is very dicey to check for a pulse effectively if you pivot your hand rather than lift it.

I should. have listened. to. myself.

Mission (intolerantly) accomplished.

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