Ovation: Ella Rake’s First Aid Skills Saved Her Mother From Exploding Ravioli Scars.
I’ve never taken an official “first aid” course (unless you count having a college roommate in a pre-med program), but I have had quite a bit of on-the-job experience over the years. I currently keep a First Aid kit in my truck, in my bathroom at home, my desk at the office and in my saddlebag. I’ve been lucky and haven’t had to use anything more than a Band-Aid. But knowing that the supplies are handy brings peace of mind to me, my family and my trail riding friends. Perhaps because I always “fork to vent”, I’ve never been injured by a microwave dinner.
Eight-year-old Ella Rake had been learning first aid skills at an after-school club in Kent, England and appears to have been paying close attention. Having recently learned about burns, Ella knew exactly what to do when her mother’s microwaveable dinner exploded in her face. Her mother was attempting to peel the plastic covering off the packaging of her hot meal when the hot beef ravioli exploded onto her face and chest.
Ella told her mother that she needed to get into a cold shower right away. Her mother was reluctant, at first, but eventually listened to her daughter’s suggestion and waited under a cold shower white the girl quickly called for an ambulance and then advised her mother to wrap her burns in cling wrap. Paramedics later indicated that Ella’s direction were probably what saved her mother from getting terrible scars.
The little girl is getting quite a bit of attention around her small town and her mini-celebrity status has inspired other students, both younger and older, to take more of an interest in First Aid skills. I’m certain that I could learn a thing or two from little Ella. While I do keep quite a supply of Band Aids on hand, it would never occur to me to wrap a burn in Saran Wrap to avoid scarring.
That little girl looks like a little Maria von Trapp.