How old were you when you learned about "stop, drop and roll" (SDR)?I would have to say I learned about this some time in elementary school.
What is unfortunate is that they apparently don't teach this type of thing to kids in Japan schools, well, as far as Satoshi's knowledge.
Why am I talking about this?
MIL is currently in the hospital for burns.
Her clothes apparently caught fire while she was taking something down from the butsudan (altar).
Instead of doing SDR or trying to smother out the fire with something, she apparently ran to the bath area to hose herself down (a good 6 to 8 feet from where the altar was).
AND instead of going to the doctor's right away, she kept her lunch date with a friend...crazy!!
I am not too sure but I think she has second degree burns.
Anyway, when I heard that they don't learn about SDR in school here, I was angry.
I mean, why spend lots of money for your children's education and not have them educated on this? (By the way, in Japan, they even pay for public schooling)
We don't have children, so to me spending a lot of money on education doesn't seem important.
To me, everyday common sense kinds of things will be most important in the long run.
So, I asked Satoshi what do the firemen teach you when they visit?
He replied..."They teach us how to use a fire extinguisher and they show us how far the hose will shoot"....sigh.
Satoshi had the day off yesterday, so we visited MIL and her burns run from her backside down to her ankles.
She says she isn't in pain but it looks like she will be in the hospital for about 2 weeks.
I'm glad she didn't burn the house down and most important, I'm glad her injuries weren't more serious or fatal.
17 comments:
Oh my........ that's terrible. Burns are especially bad, painful, and losing the derma raises the risk of infection. I hope she recovers well.
Oh my gosh, I hope she's OK now! How scary. And it's kind of crazy isn't it? Weirdly, I was thinking *exactly* of stop drop and roll the other night! (Reading it here was a freaky micro-moment :)). I also remember being told to always look through the yellow/white pages for tsunami area info (and to run *away* from the beach if the water suddenly sucks out...which sadly a LOT of people in 2004 S Asian tsunami didn't know)...and other good stuff. Made me realize - and confirmed again with your post - I actually had a pretty decent education in the Hawaii public school system! Lucky to grow up there! ;)
Wow, that's scary. Hope your MIL has a speedy recovery.
Oh my goodness, Kat.
Accidents happen when and where you least expect them to.
I wonder if your MIL was in a panic? Her clothes must have been very flammable to burn up so fast. I can totally believe she would go on her lunch date. I know another elderly lady who would do just the same.
Good thing WE were taught the 'Stop, drop, and roll'. My friend's sister was saved by that saying and the quick thinking of her and my friend.
Hope your MIL isn't in too much pain and is out of the hospital soon. Also she takes with her the saying 'Stop, drop, and roll'.
TK
And Kat you could also direct your MIL to this vid:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmj2NV8ulSs
TK
Burns from her backside and down to her ankles??? That's nuts! She should've gone to the hospital asap! Sorry to hear about all of this...what a headache.
Thanks Kirk, I hope she gets better soon too.
That is freaky Jude!
Thanks Jalna, I hope so too :)
Thanks TK :)
I know Rowena, just glad it wasn't more serious!
Take care everyone!
Kat
What your MIL did sounds nuts to most of us, but I guess it made sense to her at the time. My parents are slightly (ahem) older, too and aren't always as cautious as I would like them to be. I yelled at my mom for trying to poke a piece of tempura to see if it was "done" while it was still on the flimsy rack attached to the tempura pan and she just gave me the "what?" look. Sigh.
Best wishes to your MIL for a speedy recovery!!
Yikes I hope your MIL getts better soon. Reminded me we used to have Aloe Vera plants in our yard back home for such things..
Oh boy! I certainly feel her pain!
Thanks Anon!
Yeah Dennis, makes me appreciate the aloe plants we have in Hawaii too. I should try growing some here.
Thanks Nate!
Take care everyone.
Kat
even a small kitchen burn is quite unpleasant so sending lots of wishes your mil's way for a swift and pain-free recovery!
Thanks Leigh :)
Take care.
Kat
Oh wow Kat--that is so scary. I hope she is feeling better soon. I burned my wrist pretty good (or bad I guess!) while cooking a few weeks ago and still have the marks. I forgot how much it really throbs and hurts and it was only a small patch. Your poor MIL. :-( I guess we are really lucky we learned stop, drop and roll.
I know Debinhawaii, thanks! :o
I still have the mark when I touched the element with the back of my finger too :(
Take care.
Kat
I wish your MIL a speedy recovery. What a terrible experience -- I'm glad she wasn't more badly hurt.
That's crazy that they don't teach the stop-drop-roll method there, when it's one of the easiest things to teach. My daughter learned it in preschool and came home and demonstrated to me. She's remembered that ever since and they'll occasionally be reminded of that at school.
I agree that all the education in the world isn't worth it if you don't also teach some common sense as well.
Thanks Jenster, I agree with you too :)
Take care.
Kat
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