Compared to what many people in the world face, most of us live in a society where due to our relative ease and prosperity it’s easy to fall into a routine and get bogged down by the daily grind.

1. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
Compared to what many people in the world face,
most of us live in a society where due to our relative
ease and prosperity it’s easy to fall into a routine and
get bogged down by the daily grind. We forget to
smell the proverbial roses and take for granted our
prospects for the future. The reality is we live in a
very uncertain world and a few years ago I had the
chilling realization that tomorrow is promised to no
one.
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2. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
Early one morning my roomate and I were headed home
from a friend’s house out of town. Even though it was about
2 AM, it didn’t feel like it had cooled off much from the
100°+ high of the previous day. Road conditions were
normal and we were on a stretch of freeway that most
people navigate easily. That morning as we merged from an
offramp and onto another highway, my headlights caught a
plume of dust and smoke was just starting to settle and
through it, I could make out the shape of a vehicle that had
been crushed flat like a pancake.
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3. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
It turned out to be a large SUV which made the
condition of it’s flattened steel frame all the more
shocking. Moments earlier the driver, a young man
about my age, had failed to negotiate the turn, slammed
into a barrier and flipped the SUV multiple times, being
ejected 50-60 feet from his vehicle and landing on a dirt
enbankment. We were the second vehicle to stop and
as I ran to the victim’s side it was clear that his situation
was serious.
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4. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
A small crowd started to gather and looked on as I
cleared his airway and did what I could to keep him
alive until help could arrive. Even though we were in
a metropolitan area with adequate emergency
services, medics didn’t arrive fast enough and the
man passed away.
Looking back I’ve realized that even with the best
help, his injuries were severe enough that there
probably wasn’t much anyone could have done to
save him.
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5. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
The whole experience was rather surreal but it
highlighted the importance of having a well-
stocked first-aid kit in my car and the fact that
even though it’s not my job, I might at some
point come face to face with a situation where I
would need to use it. A year or so later while
driving out of state, my brother and I came upon
another rollover and we were able to use my kit
to help some of the injured passengers.
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6. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
Fortunately, this time the story had a much happier
ending.
In an ideal world medical services would never be
more than minutes away, but sometimes help is hours
or even days away. Othertimes, even if we do have
access to help immediately some injuries aren’t serious
enough to require specialized medical attention.
A first-aid kit can provide you with the tools and first-
aid supplies you need to handle medical emergencies.
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7. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
Commercial first-aid kits can range from bear-
necessity items to trauma-level, military grade first aid
kits. Rather than buying a kit and stashing it away
without giving it any further thought, it may make
sense to create your own personalized first-aid kit to
have in your home, your car, or in your Bug Out
Bag. When creating your first-aid kit checklist,
recommendations from the Red Cross make a good
place to start:
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8. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
•2 absorbent compress packets gloves
dressings (5 x 9 inches) •2 packets of asprin (81 •2 hydrocortisone
•25 adhesive bandages mg each) ointment packets
(assorted sizes) •1 blanket (space (approximately 1 gram
•1 adhesive cloth tape blanket) each)
(10 yards x 1 inch) •1 breathing barrier •Scissors
•5 antibiotic ointment (with one-way valve) •1 roller bandage (3
packets (approximately •1 instant cold inches wide)
1 gram) compress
•5 antiseptic wipe •2 pair of nonlatex
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9. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
•1 roller bandage (4 inches wide)
•5 sterile guaze pads (3 x 3 inches)
•5 sterile guaze pads (4 x 4 inches)
•Oral thermometer (non-mercury/nonglass)
•2 triangular bandages
•Tweezers
•First aid instruction booklet
It’s worth making mention of the last item. An
instruction booklet is certainly worth having and
studying, but it shouldn’t take the place of practical
training.
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10. A LESSON IN PREPAREDNESS: FIRST-AID KITS
In an emergency scenario the last thing you need to be
doing is trying to figure out what to do and how to do it
when wasted seconds can mean the difference between
life and death. Formal first-aid training from the Red
Cross, your local community college, or fire station, etc.
will put you in a much better place to respond effectively
when you need to. As I’ve learned, today may not have
all the answers for tomorrow’s questions, but that
doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start preparing to answer
them now.
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