再次体会到急救的重要A second chance to learn the importance of first aid

My wife shouted my name and pointed at the boy flailing in — and increasingly under — the water beneath the waterfall in Laos.

我的妻子一边大喊着我的名字，一边指着那个在老挝瀑布下面的水中扑腾、而且越陷越深的男孩。

I immediately understood and swam over to him.

我立刻明白了发生的一切，向那个男孩游过去。

It was too deep for me to touch the bottom, but I was still able to hoist him above the surface. My wife left our 3-year-old in the shallows near the bank and also helped lift and steer the child, who seemed to be around 6 years old, onto the shore.

河水深不可测，但还好我能把孩子托出水面。我的妻子把我们自己3岁的孩子留在岸边的浅滩上，帮我把这个大约6岁的孩子抬上岸。

His face was twisted in fear.

溺水男孩的脸庞因恐惧而扭曲。

He was sputtering and bawling, but managed to choke out a few words. That's when we realized he was Chinese.

他口齿不清，嚎啕大哭不止，但好不容易勉强憋出了几句话。这时我们发现他是一个中国人。

His family had apparently also used the Spring Festival holiday to travel to Luang Prabang.

他们家也是利用春节假期来老挝琅勃拉邦旅游的。

So, we started comforting him in his mother tongue and scanning the area for his parents.

我们于是用中文安慰他，一边环顾四周，寻找他的父母。

I never saw them.

但我没发现他们。

But, soon, his elder brother, who seemed around 10, arrived at the scene.

很快，孩子的哥哥过来了，年纪大约有10岁左右。

Big bro seemed unfazed.

他哥哥似乎没有意识到刚才发生的险情。

His younger sibling was still too shaken up to explain what had happened.

而溺水男孩依然处于惊恐之中，无法解释事情的发生经过。

We waited with them for some time until the boy had calmed down.

我们又陪着他们待了一段时间，直到溺水男孩平静下来。

We asked him where his parents were. He pointed to the crowded shore.

我们问起他们的父母在哪儿，男孩的手指向河边的人群。

Eventually, we gave up searching for them.

最终，我们还是放弃了寻找他们的父母。

We agreed it was extremely unlikely the little guy would attempt another swim, either way.

我们夫妻俩都觉得，这个小男孩不会再喜欢游泳了

But we kept an eye on him, nonetheless.

尽管如此，我们还是对这个溺水的孩子无法忘怀。

It wasn't until later that evening that the gravity of what had happened set in.

夜幕降临，我更加感受到白天发生的事的严重性。

Among many thoughts came a realization I'd had before but had failed to act upon — I need to learn first aid.

纷繁思绪中，不断涌现在我脑海的，是过去想过但却始终没有付诸行动的念头—我需要学习急救。

My wife — who'd worked as a lifeguard in high school and college, which is likely why she noticed the drowning boy when nobody else did — agreed to teach me.

我妻子在高中和大学时代都当过救生员，所以她白天能够在其他人都没注意到溺水男孩的时候，发现了险情。她答应教我如何急救。

It was the second time in recent years it may have proved useful.

这次我近年来再一次体会到急救的重要性。

My father and I watched a man die on a train from Jiangsu province's Wuxi to Beijing.

我父亲和我曾在江苏无锡开往北京的列车上，目睹过一名男子的猝死。

He suddenly tumbled from his seat, convulsed in the aisle and then stopped moving at all.

那位男子当时从座位上跌落，在过道里抽搐了几下，然后就一动不动了。

I remember people yelling, asking if anyone knew first aid.

我记得有人高声呼喊，问是否有人懂得急救。

A call went over the speakers, asking if any medical professionals were aboard — something I'd previously believed to merely be a Hollywood trope.

列车播音员不停地用广播询问车上是否有专业医务人员，我以前认为这只会在好莱坞电影的场景里出现。

And eventually, someone trained in the lifesaving technique arrived from another car.

最终，从另一节车厢来了一个接受过救生技术训练的人。

The man seemed to have passed away quite some time before we arrived at the next station, where emergency responders whisked him off on a stretcher.

到了下一站，急救人员用担架把死者抬下了列车，此时死者似乎已经去世了很长时间。

I sometimes wonder if things may have been different if someone were able to respond sooner. Someone in his car. Someone like me.

我有时会想，如果当时有人能够快速地进行救治，就可能是另外一个结局。会急救的人在另一节车厢，而像我这样的人却不知道如何急救。

I resolved to learn first aid that day. And then I never did.

从那天起，我决心学习急救。但至今尚未付诸行动。

It takes about four hours to complete the training.

急救训练大约需要4个小时的时间。

But as the incident at the waterfall, on the train and other places show — my wife and I saw a motorcyclist get hit by a car in Shandong province and a man have a fatal heart attack during a canopy walk in Malaysia — life can change and even end in seconds.

类似瀑布溺水、火车上突发猝死的事件，在其他地方也有发生，我妻子和我在山东曾看见一个摩托车手被小汽车撞飞，在马来西亚看见一位在林荫小道散步的男士心脏病发作。生命可能在几秒钟之内发生改变，甚至终结。

And as I've learned from our own family's health emergencies, snarled traffic in such cities as Beijing can mean it takes first responders quite some time to arrive on the scene and long rides to hospitals.

我觉得在自己的居住地遭遇突发疾病，比如像北京这样交通拥堵的城市，急救人员需要相当长的时间才能赶到现场，又要花很长时间才能把患者送到医院。

The boy at the waterfall didn't need first aid — just rescue.

瀑布溺水的那个男孩只是需要救援，而不用急救。

But it was my wife's training that made that possible.

我妻子的急救技能能够实施救援。

If he had needed first aid, she would have been able to deliver it.

如果溺水男孩需要急救，我妻子也一样能解决。

But I wouldn't.

可惜我没学会急救。

And anything can happen — at any time. And sometimes, some things are a matter of life and death.

任何时候都可能发生任何事。有时却是生死一瞬间。