The bride and ungroomed...

Dear mum,

Sorry you couldn’t come to the wedding but it was all a bit rushed… and…well…

If you believe that, then I have a wonderful commercial venture in which I’m sure you’d all be thrilled to invest…. 😉

No, its’ just another Monday night in Fortaleza and I’m at the Pirata Bar practicing my dance moves (all 3 of them) on the local talent. They are not impressed, probably because my boots have unwittingly been making numerous impressions on their dainty little toes… but they are very forgiving, and besides…

I have good reason to dance…

I saved someones life the other day. Really!

Not that I felt I had any choice in the matter, but now that I’m over the initial shock, I’m in a celebratory mood.

The professionals take over.

On a day like any other, I was relaxing by the pool with fellow sailors watching guests arrive for a wedding ceremony set in the sumptuous surroundings of the hotel garden. Quite a do, with no expense spared. Floral arrangements, grandiose chandeliers in fancy pavilions, cinema big screen for those not close enough to see the action, live bands, gourmet food and fireworks!

Except it was all too much for one rather overweight individual who sat beside me by the pool for a brief rest. His wife sought to make him more comfortable but within moments he had some kind of fit and she began screaming for help…

For what seemed an eternity, everyone just gawked. I thought it might have been an epileptic seizure in which case there was little to be done, but I’d seen that disorder before and this was definitely different. This must be a heart attack! The cries for help were answered by myself and a fellow sailor from South Africa. We moved the individual from his chair to the floor (no easy matter as he probably weighed 120kg), before realizing he was no longer breathing. His lips were blue and there was no pulse. What now?

I thought he might die there and then, and I couldn’t just watch it happen… Time to do something about it…. or at least try… Time to start mouth to mouth resuscitation.

In training courses I’d learnt of special sanitary devices to cover the mouth so that there is no physical contact with the patient, but who on earth carries one of those things in their pocket at all times? Well, if his wife kisses him regularly and still lives perhaps I’m not at too much risk…

With the heart massage delegated to my friend, I set about getting some air into his lungs… to my great relief and considerable surprise… it worked… and within five to ten minutes (but what felt like ages), while still unconscious,  he began breathing on his own.

I backed away and let others take charge while we waited for the medics and ambulance to arrive. Rather shakily, I ordered a beer at the bar and rinsed my mouth with it.

First time I’ve ever had to do that… resuscitate someone that is… plenty of experience with rinsing my mouth out with beer though…

Half an hour later he was wheeled into an ambulance and taken to hospital. I hope he pulled through, though I’ll never really know. Either way, I did all that I could.

Time to put the “do not disturb” sign up on the pool and just relax for a while now.

I'm taking it easy for a few days...