Wednesday 13 June 2018

WOYWW 471

Good morning all, and a most joyous WOYWW greeting to you!  Time to show and tell, and follow the blog hop courtesy of Julia and The Stamping Ground.  This week, I have something very special to show and tell  ... not really workdesk related, but an explanation of why there has not been much activity again this weekend.  I will reveal all after showing the tiny bit of crafting that I managed on Sunday evening.  I needed to make a birthday card for Mr M's brother.  I stamped bits on paper to make sure I chose the right colours.  Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the finished card, but you can guess the general layout. He loves cruising ...
Three shots of my main desk .... really does need a tidy up, but that is my mission for this coming weekend.
Left ....... some bills and correspondence to be filed 

Centre.... the remnants of the card making

 Right ... general dumping ground 

Now for news of what kept me away from my crafty retreat this weekend.  Mr M kindly drove me to Essex on Saturday to attend a Guinness World Record attempt!  The most cardiac arrest survivors to be gathered in one room!  And we did it - 127 of us from all over the UK.  Age range from 11 years old to 80.  Men, women and children.

We had a big celebration of life party in the evening and then drove back home on Sunday!  A very tiring, and emotional day, but a really good event to promote the need for people to learn CPR and for defibrillators to be more widely available. 

The poor survival rate in the UK is shocking (pardon the pun).  Only 8% of the 30,000 people who have a sudden cardiac arrest outside of hospital every year, will survive.  That's 2,400 ... the other 27,600 don't make it!  A big misconception is that heart attack and cardiac arrest are the same thing.  Heart attack is 'plumbing' and sometimes caused by blockages.  Cardiac arrest is 'electrical' and the heart stops beating.  Unless CPR is performed and the heart shocked back into rhythm, then the result is death.  I know how lucky I am to be one of the 8%, thanks to Mr M and his CPR skills!

At the event I learned CPR ... before my 'lesson' I performed CPR on a mannequin and my score was 69% - that's without any training.  After the training it was 79%.  Still some way to go, but as the paramedic said, bad CPR is better than no CPR!  After a person's heart stops beating, they are dead, so bad CPR will not kill them, but it might just keep them alive until the paramedics arrive!

Ok lecture over (can you tell I feel strongly about this? Lol).  If you read to the end then thank you.  Have a lovely week, and I shall do my visiting after work. Heather x

17 comments:

glitterandglue said...

Morning Heather. What a celebration for you to attend - glad you made the world record!!! Well done on learning the CPR.
Take care. God bless.
Margaret #1

Lillianb said...

Happy WOYWDW Heather, What a great celebration for you all. A world record as well.

Lilian B #17

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I assure you, Heather, this world record holding event and celebration is far more important than your desk today. I was most impressed with your knowledge and ability to educate us. And you are SO lucky to have a wonderful husband who helped save your life, too. Happy WOYWW from # 6.

Tracey@Hotchpotchcreations said...

Morning Heather.. A true celebration indeed, I know the importance of CPR having worked in community service it was part of my role. I have watched the training change over the years with each instructor telling us the same that the survival rate is low but we must never let it stop us from trying.. With the introduction of the defibrillator it gives us more options to save a life. My Mother in Law actually attended a DiFib (AED) course two weeks ago she is 78.. never too old.
So heartwarming to hear your story Heather, Thank you so much for letting us in.
Creative Hugs Tracey #7
P.S Your desk always looks super to me, not too sure about the bills though..

Hazel said...

Wow! what a wonderful get together you had and well done for the CPR training. I love the stamping that you did in preparation for the card you needed to make. Your desk has lots of crafting interest. Thanks for sharing today - Hazel, WOYWW 472 xx

Lunch Lady Jan said...

I cannot think of a better way to celebrate your survival than to attend that gathering! Especially as your CPR skills were then enhanced - knowing how to save someone's life is surely something that we should all know. Poor Mr M, that must have been a huge shock for him to have saved you like that - my hubby had a quad bypass 10 years ago, so I know what it's like for the partner as well!
Extra big hugs this week therefore :-D. LLJ 10 xxx

Sarah Brennan said...

Wow Heather, congratulations on being a World Record holder and even more on having someone who knew what they were doing at the right time! Have a great week. Sarah #16

Helen said...

Well done, what a great thing to do. Helen #2

Diana Taylor said...

Wow, congratulations on being a World Record Holder - what an achievement. CPR is something we should all learn at school I think - my mum had to perform CPR twice in her life (both in public places with people she didn't know) and both times she was the only one among a large crowd of people who knew what to do. Hats off to your hubby too for knowing what to do.
Hope you have a great week,
Diana x #19

shazsilverwolf said...

Hi Heather, I totally agree it's a vital thing to learn, in fact it should be taught in schools.( Just noticed Diana said the same). More useful than a lot of stuff they get taught! Beloved Hubby took a Defibrillator course at work recently. How wonderful your Hubby was there and knew how to help you. Have a lovely week, Hugs, Shaz#8 XxXx

Zsuzsa Karoly-Smith said...

Oh, wow, what shocks me about that photo is how many of those people look quite young and not at all overweight. I must admit I'm absolutely rubbish in emergencies and I'm not sure I would know what to do. How lucky that your husband was there to help you! I didn't know the difference between a heart attack and a cardiac arrest until now either. That cruise stamp looks nice! Enjoy your week! zsuzsa #22

SumBunneh said...

Congratulations on your World Record.. what a wonderful fearful thing to take part in.

My brother had a heart attack at 37 years old and we found out all about dodgy genetics as he is a super fit, non-smoker!

Loving your desk too.

Sumbunneh hugs x
Erika #13

Stacy Sheldon said...

Congratulations Heather, that is such an accomplishment and I am sure those scores will just keep going up with practice. :)

(and isn't everyone's table a dumping ground at least some of the time?) ~Stacy #28

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Hi Heather. Well done with the world record, brilliant. Have a great woyww and happy crafting, Angela x18x

Neet said...

Well, I had no idea you had suffered like that - good that you were one of the percentage that was saved and hats off to the saver. I have AF and have had three cardioversions but the last one didn't work so am 'out of flunters' a bit but the pacemaker helps keep me going (although the battery is getting low so a new something is on the horizon). You have opened my eyes here and I think there is a definite shortage of publicity about this - more training needed to enable more people to help in a sad situation. Hope I never suffer as you and all those people have.
Congratulations on the world record and on being a part of a wonderful weekend celebration.
Lovely desk shots.
Hugs,Neet 4 xx (and thanks for the visit to me when I was otherwise occupied with visitors yesterday)

Twiglet said...

Oh well done on the info about CPR - I did first aid training but not sure how confidently I could perform it - I would give it a go though!

Julia Dunnit said...

Gosh Heather, no wonder you feel strongly about it! I didn't even know the difference between heart attack and cardiac arrest! Mr M must be great in a crisis and very happy to have you there to become a record breaker! WOw.