The American Red Cross First Aid & Safety: The Heimlich Maneuver

In my book "The American Red Cross: First Aid & Safety Handbook" I was taught and showed how to save a person's life by performing with rapid first aid for choking by doing abdominal thrusts, also called the Heimlich maneuver. My author Kathleen A. Handal explains that "choking is your body's way of trying to remove a foreign object (such as food) from the airway. A choking person's airway may be completely or partially blocked" (Handal 108). Without oxygen the brain can begin to die within 4-6 minutes. Some signs and symptoms of choking are grabbing of the throat with the hand, gagging, pale and bluish skin on face, weak, ineffective coughing; noisy breathing; high-pitched crowing sounds, convulsions and/or loss of consciousness.

"Choking is often associated with eating; alcohol consumption, trauma to the head or face, and young children" (Handal 108). Some warnings are:

• DO NOT interfere if the victim is coughing forcefully and has good air exchange. However, be ready to act instantly if the victim's air exchange worsens
• DO NOT pinch or choke an object that is lodged in the victim's throat. This might force it farther down the airway.

Steps to proceed with Heimlich:

First ask the victim if he or she is choking. If the victim can't answer, the obstruction is life threatening. Call EMS. Then tell the victim you are going to try to help and ask for permission to proceed.
1. Perform abdominal thrusts
2. Stand behind the victim
3. Wrap your arms around the victim's waist
4. Make a fist, place the thumb side of your fist in the middle of the victims abdomen, just above the navel and well below the lower tip with your outer hand
5. Grasps your fist with your other hand
6. Keeping your elbows out, press your fist with a quick, upward thrust into the victim's abdomen. Each thrust is a separate attempt to clear the victim's airway by forcing air out
7. Continue performing this maneuver until the obstruction is cleared or the victim loses consciousness

Have you ever been in a situation where you have almost or had performed the Heimlich maneuver, and what was the situation?

Defending the soccer goal

If you ask anyone on a soccer team if they want to play goalkeeper the most common answer you will get is NO! This position may be the most unpopular but it is the most vital position on the pitch. As a goalkeeper you have to have really good agility, reflexes, handling, and positioning sine you are the last resource that can stop the ball and avoid being scored on. This is a very difficult position because if you make a single mistake it can cost you the win, that's why it's important for the modern day goalkeeper to be up to date and be practicing all the time. The strikers are getting better and the goalkeeper always has to be on top of their game to block anything that goes towards goal.

   In the book that I am reading titled "Soccer for Dummies" by Thomas Dunmore it teaches you all the techniques you need to know from the basics of learning how to properly catch the ball to the more expert level of blocking one on one shots. In the text "The full extension dive: Used when a shot is heading toward one of the corners of the net, the keeper has to extend himself to the fullest, making his first stride as long as possible with arms extended and away from the face to see the ball as clearly as possible"(Dunmore 34). This quote from the book really emphasizes the amount of athleticism an individual needs to have in order to be a goalkeeper. Just blocking the ball from your body isn't enough you have to be willing to plunge and make the save, after all the goal is 8 yards apart, That's 8 yards that you need to be defending. Letting a goal in can be crucial, it can be the difference from winning or loosing an important match  

The full extension dive is one of the main skills a goalkeeper has to know how to do well, most of the shots will be taken from fairly long distances and will be aimed at impossible to reach places of the goal. That's why it is important to master your diving techniques, knowing the proper techniques like standing on your toes and extending your arm out all the way can really have an impact when it comes to match day. That's why it is important to always keep practicing and never giving up, if you learn from your mistakes during practice you will surely have a great performance when it comes to the big day.

Question: Have you ever seen a goalkeeper in action? And if you have, what impressed you?