Beth Carpenter - An Alaskan Proposal

“Um, sure.” She walked with him, trying to match his long strides. She’d chosen this outfit deliberately: an A-line navy skirt, a silk T-shirt in a subtle tone-on-tone paisley, and an Anne Li raspberry blazer she’d scored after a trunk show. She’d had to alter it, of course, since she wasn’t as tall as the model, but sometimes being a size four paid off. Sabrina had given many a presentation in this outfit, and it always made her feel competent and in charge. “Why should I have worn pants?”

“You may need to get down on the floor, but as I said, we’ll manage.”

The floor? “What is this class?”

“Babysitting.”

“What?” She hurried to catch up, wishing she hadn’t worn heels. “Why are you teaching babysitting?” She’d thought Learn & Live was about outdoor survival stuff.

“I’m not teaching the whole course. I’m just today’s guest instructor.” They had reached the main office. Leith signed them in and led her down the hall to a classroom. Inside, a dozen or so young teenagers, mostly girls but a couple of boys, sat in chairs at the front of the room and chatted with a happy-faced woman with brown curls. When Leith walked into the room, the teacher jumped up and beamed at him.

“Welcome back. Students, this is Leith Jordan. Oh, and you brought someone this time.”

“Yes. Hi, everybody.” Leith waved. “As Mrs. Livingstone said, I’m Leith and this is Sabrina.”

“Hi, Leith. Hi, Sabrina,” the kids chanted, more or less in unison.

“Let’s jump right in. Does everyone have their dummies?” Leith asked as he unzipped the duffel bag. He pulled out a first-aid kit and a life-size baby doll.

All the kids reached under their chairs and pulled out dolls. Leith handed his to Sabrina. She took it, and after a quick glance at the kids, she cradled the doll in her arms like most of them were. Sabrina had never spent much time around babies.

Leith had her sit in a chair. “Okay. Now suppose Sabrina here is taking care of this baby. Maybe she’s been feeding him, or the baby has been crawling around on the floor. All of a sudden, she notices the baby is distressed but can’t seem to make much noise. His skin looks a little blue. Who knows what’s wrong with the baby?”

Sabrina hoped she wasn’t supposed to come up with an answer because she had no idea. The kids whispered among themselves. After a minute, one of the girls raised her hand. “It’s having a heart attack?”

“Probably not, but good guess. Think about it. What would make your skin turn blue?”

“He can’t breathe,” someone said.

“Exactly. And what is the most common reason someone suddenly can’t breathe?”

There was a moment’s silence. “Choking!” another of the girls blurted out.

“Yes!” Leith flashed the girl a smile, and Sabrina almost dropped the doll. Wow. When he smiled a genuine smile, not just the snarky smirks he’d thrown at her before, everything changed. His rugged face grew animated and the cobalt blue eyes, framed by thick dark lashes, seemed to be creating a magnetic force field. Sabrina wasn’t the only one who felt it, either, judging by the way all the girls suddenly leaned forward.

“So what do you do when someone’s choking?” Leith asked.

“The Heimlich,” the first girl said.

“Right. Have any of you seen the posters in the cafeteria about how to administer the Heimlich maneuver?” Several hands rose. “Good. We’ll practice that in a few minutes but right now we have a baby choking. Babies are fragile. We can’t give them the same treatment we’d give an adult or teenager. Here’s how to treat a choking baby.”

Leith took the doll from her and demonstrated how to position the baby, supporting it with one hand while slapping it on the back five times with the heel of his other hand. “Not too hard. We don’t want to break any ribs, but hard enough to dislodge whatever is blocking the airway.” He had all the students practice, going from one to the other to check their positioning and technique. Then he explained the next step to take if that didn’t work and had them practice that. Sabrina was impressed. He really seemed to know his stuff, and he had the kids’ full attention. By the time they’d finished the lesson, she felt like even she would be able to treat a choking baby.

When Leith was satisfied everyone had it down, he moved on. “Now, what if you’re not babysitting a baby. What if it’s an older child? Sabrina, can you stand up, please?” She did, and he moved beside her. “Okay, so little Sabrina is agitated. She isn’t saying anything. Maybe she’s bringing her hands to her throat.” Now Sabrina understood what Leith meant by being his assistant. Her job wasn’t to help him teach; it was to play the victim. That, she could do. Sabrina wrapped her fingers around her neck and pretended to gasp as if there was something stuck in her throat.

“Hands on the neck are a classic sign, but even if a person isn’t doing that, suspect choking if someone who was eating suddenly seems panicky. But unlike the baby, Sabrina can talk. Let’s ask her. Sabrina, are you choking?”

“Yes,” Sabrina answered in a stage whisper, tilting to one side and giving a couple of fake coughs. “Please save me.”

Leith grinned. “Remember, if she can answer you, her airway isn’t completely blocked. Let her try to cough it up herself. But if she can’t, that’s when the Heimlich comes in. Let’s try it again. Sabrina, are you choking?”

Still holding her hands on her neck, Sabrina nodded. Leith moved behind her and put his arms around her, explaining to the class how he was positioning his hands just below her ribs. “And then I’d push in hard to drive the air from her lungs and dislodge whatever is blocking her airway. We won’t do that today, because I could injure her that way. A cracked rib is a small price to pay for saving a life, but let’s not risk it today.”

“Excellent decision,” Sabrina croaked. The kids laughed.

“However, I do have a training vest in my bag. First, I want you to pair up and see where to position your hands, and then we’ll get out the vest and practice.”

The kids broke into twos and practiced. Once he was satisfied everyone had the basic idea, Leith had Sabrina wear the vest. “See, this foam plug is the food that’s obstructing the airway.” He stepped behind her and positioned his hands over the air bladder in the vest. “Now let’s see if I can do it properly.” He tightened his arms around her and gave a hard thrust to the vest. The foam plug popped out. The kids cheered.

All the kids in the class took turns using the Heimlich maneuver on Sabrina. It took some of them several tries, but Leith coached them patiently until they had all succeeded. Sabrina was glad when they moved on to the next lesson, until she discovered it involved head wounds.

“You have lots of blood circulation in your head, and so heads tend to bleed heavily. Suppose Sabrina fell against a piece of furniture and cut her head right here.” He pulled a red sticker from a sheet and stuck it to her forehead. “Who can tell me how to stop the bleeding?”

“Put a tourniquet around her neck?” one of the boys suggested, grinning.

“That would do the trick, all right, but it would also stop the blood from getting to Sabrina’s brain, and remember, you’re getting paid to keep Sabrina’s brain safe. Let’s try direct pressure instead.” He pulled up a chair. “Sabrina, can you sit down, please?” Leith took a gauze pad from his kit and pressed it to her forehead. “Here, push here.”

Leith turned toward the kids. “Position. Examine. Elevate. Pressure.” He ticked off the words on his fingers. “If you’re a chicken about blood, remember to PEEP.”