I just finished my Wilderness First Responder (“WFR”) first aid class and passed. (perhaps only with generous gifts promised to the teachers.. Too bad they will be so disappointed…). WFR is a minimum level of advanced first aid training that is expected for search and rescue people and outdoor guides. It is meant to prepare us for being first on an accident scene in the wilderness and be prepared to handle the patient for many hours or even days before being able to get them to a doctors’ care. We focused on learning how to do a thorough assessment of what has happened, diagnosing the injury or illness, and executing a plan for what might be extended care during a long multi-day evacuation. It got really intense working with pretend victims who were really good actors screaming in pain and panic with bloody wounds, or totally unresponsive, as we tried to figure out what was going on and stabilize them. The scenarios were done outside in whatever conditions nature threw at us, including pounding rain, hail, and darkness. We did one scenario up Provo canyon in the dark and had to prepare the patient and ourselves for an overnight stay out in the rain. (even though we packed up and left by about 10:00).

The class was offered through NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership), and sponsored by UVU in Orem. There were a few of us old timers in the class but most of the class (25 students) were taking it for their college curriculum in Outdoor Rec. I felt really old around them, but by the end of the class I am afraid to admit I found myself saying “duuude’ way too much for a person my age. (At least I got out without getting any facial piercings…)

I have taken several short first aid courses over the years and, like my constant putting off learning to speak Spanish, I have been intending to take this class for many years so I was better prepared for the crazy stuff I have been doing my whole life. I have been fortunate in that I or anyone I have been with has never had a serious medical situation out in the wilderness, but I have certainly known many who have. (In fact, while we were taking our final test, my carpool buddy’s roommate was, at that very moment, being rescued up Little Cottonwood Canyon after a 1500 foot slide down an icy slope and being injured, requiring a helicopter rescue.) . A few weeks ago I was in San Francisco at a sailing seminar and they mentioned how valuable it would be to take this class to be prepared to be sailing out in remote areas like I plan to do. With this new motivation, I finally looked around and found this session being offered here in Utah at the prefect time for my travels here so I jumped in.

This has been the most intense schooling I have ever had. It was 80 hours in 9 days, with a mixture of class lecture, outdoor scenarios, nighttime sessions and a 200 page text book to study in my spare time. I got up early every day (how DO you people answer an alarm every day? It was killing me!), drove 45 minutes to Orem and back every day, and did very little else for the 2 weeks, and crashed early into bed exhausted every night. Alas I got no sympathy from the kids who said “Dad, to get our Masters degrees we have been doing that for almost 10 years!” I have a whole new respect for all you students out there. Kudos to you all!