christopher.

because he always was. keep up. we didn’t need doctor who to know this.

the hands of sleep token

So I've done my first aid + CPR a few times. And every single time I try and bring up scenarios for fat folks

Specifically like 'what if someone is too large for me to wrap my arms around then to do the heimleich'

And its incredibly rare I get a decent answer.

How absolutely insane is it that me, as a fat person, is asking how to have MY life saved or to save ANOTHER life, is an impossible feat if someone is fat.

Most of the time they tell me to 'just try anyways uwu'

The heimleich is scientifically as effective as slapping someone VERY hard on the back. The only reason it's so well taught is the man that invented it did a lot of great PR for himself. It's also a bit easier for smaller framed people to get the necessary force in, because people are often extremely scared to hurt people, even in life threatening situations.

With larger bodied people, whether they be fat, tall, muscular, etc. If you cannot get your arms around them, literally just slap the shit out of their shoulders. You want hard, open palmed slaps right in the center of the shoulders or slightly below.

If they are too tall for you to reach that high, guide them to lean over the back of a chair, and then slap slap slap slap slap.

It's been proven to be just as effective through many studies. It just doesn't have a trademarked name and a dramatic effect in film.

If you have to do CPR on a larger bodied person, again, fat, body builder, tall and broad, whoever, the trick to finding where you want to put your hands if going to be to take your hand and shove it in their armpit. No seriously. Put your hand in their armpit, then drag it in a straight line towards yourself until you're in the center of the chest, then put your other hand beneath that one. This is where you push. Then you are going to move the arm closest to you out of the way so you can get closer to them, and get the leverage you need to press down for compressions. The more of your body weight that is over your hands, the better the compression will be. Act like you are trying desperately to pack the last of your clothes in a suitcase, and just slam down hard on their chest.

They will make *horrible* noises. You might even break ribs.

But a broken rib is better than being dead.

First step of CPR is to point at someone specifically and say “YOU in the blue hat! call 911, and KEEP ME UPDATED about when they will arrive! Call now!”

And then start compressions. Keep looking to that person and ask what emergency services people are saying.

That is the most crucial part.

CPR does not revive people - it keeps them suspended on the “living” side of “almost dead” until EMS can arrive and shock their heart into actually beating again!

In 1 minute with no blood movement, brain cells begin to die due to lack of oxygen and buildup of waste.

In 3 minutes with no blood movement, there is severe and irreversible damage.

In 4-6 minutes with no blood movement, the body is permanently and truly dead. No takebacksies.

CPR is manually pumping the heart and somewhat compressing the lungs, so oxygen can get into the blood, get moved around, and the blood movement can deliver oxygen and carry away the waste to be processed by other organs.

A person can continue to survive in this nearly-dead state, with their blood being moved around via manual compressions, at normal temperatures for an hour and a half.

In freezing temps, with hypothermia involved, an exceptional person underwent 9 hours of CPR, and only had mild amnesia.

But you MUST compress them deep enough that you’re squishing the heart and forcing blood to move.

If you’re doing it RIGHT, you will hear and FEEL “crunching” and “popping”. It will feel like you’re breaking their ribcage.

In most cases, those sounds are actually from cartilage, not bone. Keep going.

Even if you do break bone, keep going anyway. Broken rib is better than dead.

If you stop, they definitely die.

If you don’t do it deep enough, they definitely die.

If no one called emergency services, they will definitely die.

Again: CPR does not revive or fix anyone. They will not leap up and gasp for air and be magically fixed.