Charles S. Taft

[loetar44]

(09-05-2014 06:37 PM)Eva Elisabeth Wrote:  

(09-05-2014 04:56 PM)loetar44 Wrote:  ...my lecture about some aspects on the death of Lincoln.

Kees, that sounds interesting. May I ask who will be your audience?

Hi Eva, my audience will be emergency response team members. They are ordinary workers in a company. However, if something happens in the company - a fire breaks out, someone hurt themselves, or in case of cardiac arrest , or if the building must be evacuated, then this team workers take action. They know what to do if there is a fire is, or what they should do if someone needs medical assistance, etc. Every year in November, a lecture on a particular topic is given for this team who are working in the schools in the neighborhood, also the school where I once taught. This year the topic is the history of CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and it is "my turn" to speak. There are also other speakers about other (historical and medical) aspects of CPR. I want to speak about the “A, B, C” method of CPR. That was the method Dr. Leale and Dr. Taft used when they found Lincoln shot in the head. Dr. Leale made three moves (later described as A, B and C) correctly, assisted by Dr. Taft: the“A” or “Airway” is to leave the open air for ventilation, the “B” or “Breathing” the act of venting and the “C” or “Circulation” promote blood circulation. You certainly know that Dr. Leale was the first doctor who arrived in the presidential box. He found Lincoln with no pulse, so Lincoln was technically dead. He laid Lincoln on the floor. At that moment Dr. Taft was the second doctor who arrived by climbing over the railing of the box. Taft cut the collar of Lincoln and opened it, then, Leale made the “A”, “B” and “C” acts, after which breathing and pulse improved. Leale described the acts as follows:

[A] “... As the President made no move to revive then, I thought of another way of death, apnea, and I assumed my preferred position for him with artificial respiration to revive …” “… I knelt on the floor on the President, with one knee on each side of the pelvis and in front of him. I leaned forward, opened my mouth and inserted two fingers of his right hand as far as possible .. . and then I opened the larynx and I did a free passage for air to enter the lungs … “

[B] “… I put an assistant in each of his arms to manipulate in order to expand the chest and then slowly pushed his arms down the side of the body as I pressed the diaphragm above: These methods caused the vacuum and air is forced out of their lungs … “

[C] “… Also with the thumb and fingers of my right hand pressure intermittent sliding pressure below the ribs stimulated the apex of the heart …”