“ You need to make sure you are safe first,” states Megan Okey (17) a senior in high school in Hartland, Wisconsin, who has been training with Lake Country Fire and Rescue. She has been working as a lifeguard in the summer and has been working on getting her EMT basic certification during the semesters. Megan knows how to save a life. When you are attempting to save someone's life, you need to make sure your environment is safe first. It will do no good if you become injured when working on someone else. 

In her sophomore year of high school, she was lifeguarding and during a busier day at the pool, she noticed a young girl was struggling to swim amongst the older kids. Through the busy pool and the waves created by the chaos, she had to use her training and pull the young girl from the pool. This experience sparked her interest in wanting to save people. 

Okey explains that every situation you walk into will be different, “You need to call 911, it is the most important step in the process.” Whether you are trained or not, you always have to worry about the unpredictable, so it is good to know that backup is on the way. 

After you have called for backup, you need to focus your attention on your patient. You have to assess if they have a pulse or if they are breathing. Okey once had to treat a guy who had a heart arrhythmia, and by assessing him she was able to rely on her training and help him until the rest of the first responders arrived on scene. 

A lot can happen at once, but you need to make sure you get the full story and any important background information on your patient. By doing this, you have to talk to bystanders and anyone who could have witnessed the situation. You need to make sure that you are making the correct calls with the patient. 

Okey reminds us, “You need to remain calm, because if you are not calm when treating someone what makes them think that they are going to be okay.” This is the most important step, in moments of chaos you need to remain focused and calm to take care of the situation properly.