Yesterday at Church

[yoshi]

Yesterday at church (Episcopalian) as we were going up for the communion, an elderly woman who was about 5 feet in front of me had either a stroke or a heart attack, and almost fell down - I say almost because another lady and I jumped and grabbed her to protect her from a fall. She closed her eyes and slumped - I thought she was dead for a moment.

I know some of you have EMT training - so the question is - what is the proper way to support someone who is falling? I'm serious because I have done this twice now, and am afraid of causing any further injury.

What I did is hold left elbow with my left hand, while using my right hand on right hip/waist to pull their body against the side of my body to support their weight until we can either sit them down, or lay them down.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[ibex]

I am not an EMT, but I think there are no extra points for grace in a medical emergency. The fainting person should be lucky you reacted fast enough to grab whatever you can before he or she hits the floor like a sack of potatoes. Your grip doesn't need to be good, because you shouldn't even try to hold the person upright. If she fainted, she probably can't stand on her own anyway, so just ease her onto the ground and let her recover or call 911 if necessary.

Just my two cents.

[ExSoldier]

Sounds just perfect. I have done the same for elderly folks or soldiers with heat exhaustion or drunks passing out while standing up. As long as you seek to do no harm there should be "Good Samaritan" Laws in your state that will protect you if you render first aid in an emergency. Just try and offer support for the upper body including the head and neck. If you lay her on her back support the neck in an arched position to keep the airway open. That's critical. You can't actually "swallow your tongue" as it used to be known, but the tongue can move so as to block the airway and a person can sufficate. Especially somebody in some other form of medical distress or unconscious. A good move is to lie the person on their side so that even if they vomit, it will tend to run out the mouth instead of back down the gullet and they drown. LOVELY THOUGHT that is huh?

[jarhead79]

The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. The main thing is to keep the head from bouncing off the ground. Nothing like a concussion and stitches to go with your heart attack.

[exposurecontrol]

The main thing is to keep the head from bouncing off the ground. Nothing like a concussion and stitches to go with your heart attack.

1+ Nothing graceful about the process. Just do your best to get them on the ground in one piece trying not to hurt yourself in the process.