There’s no doubt 2016 was a challenging year for many people who experienced disasters such as the Alberta fires and Hurricane Matthew, or who fled their home as a result of armed conflict.
We want to cap off the year by sharing some of the most inspiring and heartwarming Red Cross stories from 2016 to show humanity at its best. What inspired you this year?
10
Latest Posts
Knowing basic first aid can help save lives. But if you’re more comfortable learning in a language other than English, it may be more challenging to find a first aid course. More than 50 per cent of the population in B.C.’s Lower Mainland speaks a language other than English at home. Luckily, Choi, who had to administer first aid on her infant daughter, was able to take first aid and disaster preparedness lessons in Chinese last year.
Cliff Colpitts took his first ever first aid class. It was offered through his workplace. Canadian Red Cross training partner Ron Gillatt instructed the class, teaching important first aid skills – including CPR, which Cliff would later use to save his son’s life.
“I really, really wanted to say thank you. I don’t think I conveyed how grateful I was.” Maggie Ireland fought back tears as she thanked two Red Cross volunteers for their assistance after she and her niece, Jamie, were involved in a car accident in downtown Edmonton.
Not everyone experiences chest pain during a heart attack. In my First Aid and CPR training with the Red Cross, I’d learned that heart attack symptoms for women can be a lot different than for men. But it didn’t really sink in how difficult that might make it to recognize a problem, until this happened.
My family recently found ourselves on a Caribbean island where we were having a wonderful vacation. My husband and I have always loved the water and once upon a time were both lifeguards in Canada (let's just call us 'retired'). With two young children, we respect the ocean and are always looking for opportunities to talk over safety in the water, taking the opportunity in this case to explore ocean currents and what they mean when we're thinking about cooling off in the ocean.
We took a moment to talk to some mental health advocates about the importance of integrating mental health into first aid.
When we see someone experiencing a medical emergency we know first aid can be a life-saving measure, but what if we saw someone experiencing a mental health emergency such as depression or suicidal behaviour?