I get so MAD!

April 21st, 2005 at 11:40am Posted by Bill

We recently got these new fangled AED devices at work. AED stands for “automated external defibrillator”. You know the heart paddles that they use in all the dramatic emergency room scenes, where the doctor shoves them on a patient’s chest and yells “CLEAR!“? Well, an AED is like that, but it’s automatic. Pretty much, you just stick these adhesive pads to a person’s upper and lower chest (in a precise location), and the machine monitors their heart condition, and will only give a shock if needed.

I’m on my building’s safety committee, so I was trained by the Red Cross on the use of the machines. They’re only supposed to be used by someone who’s been properly trained, not because there is anything really dangerous about them, but if they’re not properly hooked up, the machine won’t be able to get correct readings on the person, and may not give the correct shock when it’s really needed.

So aaanywaaaay… I got home from work the other day, and the family and I were sitting down to eat dinner. At school that day, Lexi had for some reason been sucking on her inner elbow (isn’t that called the crelbow?), and left red marks on her skin. Before I knew about this, however, Lexi turned to me (and it’s important here to remember that she is seven years old, and very much a daddy’s girl) and said “Daddy, you want to see my hickeys?”

The first thing that went through my mind was “No one else in the family is trained to use the AED, but since we don’t have one here at the house anyway, I guess I’ll just have to wait for the ambulance to restart my heart.”

After everyone was done laughing at the horrified look on my face, it was explained to me what she meant, and I was finally able to manage a feeble smile.

Entry Filed under: Fun