Our next story comes from Kevin Cantwell from Expert laser Services.

"Several years ago I had a crew clearing some brush and small trees. The guy on the chain saw was not a tree expert, but he was experienced in using a chainsaw and cutting down trees. As he was cutting the tree, another guy pushed on the tree with a backhoe to make sure it fell away from a building. Just as the tree was cut through the pressure made the trunk swing around. A limb hit the tree cutter in the side of his head, causing a severe concussion and months of lost time. He was not wearing a hard hat at the time, although I am not sure if that would have helped. The standard rule of using the right tool for the job might have applied. A backhoe is not the proper method to guide a tree as it is being cut. A tree company might have cost some more money at the time, but nothing compared to what happened to my workers compensation premium!!!"

I think this is important for any homeowner or business owner. It might not be you that has an emergency, but this is a perfect example of how others can effect us. We hire companies to come into our homes to do work everyday, it doesn't take much. Sometimes these workers have deadlines to meet and as a result might rush....this can make a very big difference!

Thanks to Kevin for sharing!

I wanted to share this poem with you.

"I chose to look the other way

 I could have saved a life that day,

 but I chose to look the other way.

 It wasn't that I didn't care, I had the time, and I was there.

 But I didn't want to seem a fool, or argue over a safety rule 

I knew he'd done the job before, if I called it wrong, he might get sore.

The chances didn't seem that bad,

 I've done the same, he knew I had.

So I shook my head and walked on by,

 he knew the risks as well as I.

He took the chance, I closed an eye, and with the act,

 I let him die.

 I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way.

Now every time I see his wife, I'll know I should have saved his life.

That guilt is something I must bear, but it isn't something you need to share.

 If you see a risk that others take, that puts their health or life at stake.

The question asked, or thing you say,

could help them live another day.

 If you see a risk and walk away,

 then hope you never have to say,

 I could have saved a life that day, but I chose to look the other way."

                                 Don Merrell

Simply look out for yourselves and for each other.

This next story comes to us from Paul Ceccarelli. How he dealt with his First Aid situation.

"It was a nice fall day in October of 2004 when I decided to tackle my next homeowner project. It was time to replace the windows in the front of my house. Now, this is a project that seemed relatively easy to me, since I had been doing carpentry work on and off for over 25 years.

So, out come the old windows, then time to get ready to put in the new ones, but wait...the new windows are a little bit smaller. No problem, I'll just cut a few 2 x 4's and back in business.

So I have a 2 x 4 on the saw ready to cut,then a second later my arm is in the chop-saw getting cut! It only took a second and now I had an arm that was cut clear to the bone. Since I have been through First Aid Training, I did not panic and put direct pressure with a towel immediately. I called for my wife to grab more towels and to stay calm. I had no use of my hand at this point, but we managed to control the bleeding.

I was rushed to the hospital where I received over 35 stitches. After months of rehab I now have 98% use of my hand."

Thanks to Paul for sharing this story with us. I want to add a personal note to this story. If you don't know, Paul is my father. When I received the phone call I was on Cape Cod working. I had to drive 110 miles home to install windows so they could come home from the hospital to a weather tight house. I kept all my appendages!

So recently I have asked some associates, friends and fellow net workers to offer stories of their personal experiences dealing with or wittnesing a First Aid Emergency.

So this first story comes to you from Joe Holm:

"Last November, I was coaching my son's elementary school basketball team, and one of the players was cut pretty badly over the eye. As we were scrimmaging, one of the players who had not played before, and confused football for basketball in the rules dept, fell on top of one of the players, driving his face into the hardwood floor. The player who had his face  planted, happened to be wearing Rec spec's ( thankfully, not his glasses ) and they were driven into his eyebrow. After he sat up, there was a little blood dripping down his face, but not too bad. I removed his rec spec's and the flood began! He had a slice right across his eyebrow!! And oh by the way, it was my son... I panicked for a quick second, then reached for my "medical kit"... which consisted of one icepack, and some gauze... I went through the gauze in about 30 seconds, and had paper towels and the icepack on it to keep the swelling down and try to stop the bleeding. I was the only adult in the gym, so I had to get someone back to the gym to finish the practice so I could take my son to the hospital. He thankfully required no stitches, just glue, which he proudly showed off the next day at school with his black eye. I think the experience was more upsetting for me than it was for him. "

First off, thanks to Joe for sharing this story. Sounds like Joe did a great job handling this situation, especially because it was his own kid. Parents often time have that initial "freak-out" reaction which does not help the situation. I am happy to hear your son is ok and thank you for sharing.

The American Heart Association has released some facts and statistics that are directly related to out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. I want to share some of these facts with you. For the complete list you can visit the AHA site.

About 75 to 80 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrests happen at HOME. This means having someone trained in Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can make a substantial difference for the survival rates of a loved ones.

Approximately 310,000 of all annual adult coronary heart disease deaths in the United States are suffered outside the hospital setting and in hospital emergency departments. Of those deaths, about 166,200 are due to sudden cardiac arrest.

These are some very important reasons why we still need people to have CPR training. With response times for medical professionals, EMT's and Paramedics, taking anywhere from 6 to 20 plus minutes, depending on location and time of day, it now becomes vital for a bystander to help with CPR.

 In addition, the use of Automated External Defibrillators (AED's) have also been playing a vital role in saving lives due to sudden cardiac arrest. This is why many companies and communitieshave introduced AED's to their safety programs.

 In closing, I ask that you ask yourself one question, and if the answer is NO than please consider going through a training course.

 If someone collapsed in front of you right now, would you know how to react?