“There is a free CPR class that we can schedule you for, it is held one floor down in the NICU,” the nurse was sweet and smiling as all the nurses were. I still felt like I was walking in a fog and the thought of something slightly distracting was welcomed. My husband and I scheduled for the next available class. We thought we were just volunteering for the class. We didn’t realize that our participation was required by the condition of our son. I remember thinking through the class, “I didn’t even think about CPR, maybe I should have.” But then I realized that had I had the presence of mind to perform CPR I would have wasted valuable time and he would have died. It was good to participate in the class just to learn that I had done the right thing.
At the end of the class, the nurse teaching it accompanied us to our son’s room in the PICU and showed us where we would place our fingers, etc. It was when she had us sign the form saying we had taken and passed the class that the realization hit. It is good to be prepared, but it was an eerie feeling, participating in a class because you knew they were afraid you might really need to use it, and not on some stranger that you happen across, but on your own child.
Fun and Flawed 