A few weeks ago, I renewed my CPR and first aid license. It was with the same teacher and fellow students as in my EMT course . It was nice to be together again, but WOW, what a change in what we were being taught. We had renewed already once since our course ended and it was a regular redo in that we all had to demonstrate CPR and then we went in small groups to speak with the teacher privately and try to figure out what was going on with the "patient" she gave us in a scenario (me for the win that our "patient" was possibly having a stroke, although me for the lose that I temporarily forgot the Hebrew word "shavatz" and said "stroke"). Now, though: whole new game. Renewing first aid in a time of war equals reviewing mass-casualty first aid and spending a LOT of time on tourniquets (in fact, who knew there is new technology in tourniquets?! Well there is, and it's pretty neat. Four years ago, we learned a tourniquet-tying technique that involves using a pen to tighten the tourniquet on the patient. Now we saw a new type that includes a plastic oblong cylinder that the person can tighten on themselves until help can reach them. Soldiers on the front lines evidently get these in the medical kit they carry with them. Please Gd, may they never need to use them, since tourniquet use basically means you've decided to lose your limb rather than your life).
Our family has also joined a weekly rally for an hour Saturday night to support the hostages and their families. It is, of course, "preaching to the converted", as no one here is going to pull down hostage posters (what is wrong with people?!?!), or be anything less than supportive of such a rally, but it is a way for our family to spiritually support the hostages and, as we say in Judaism, "help carry the burden". We have joined a small group that meets at the kikar (traffic cirlce/rotary) at a major intersection. There are "Bring Them Home Now" signs and Israeli flags and, personally, I say a lot of tehillim.
