As important as CPR. by Caitlin

As important as CPR. by Caitlin - November 2021 Scholarship Essay

A couple years ago when I was studying to become an EMT, Emergency Medical Technician, we ran a call on a female patient, no older than thirty years old. She was in and out of consciousness and we couldn't figure out why. As we were on our way to the hospital, our patient had attempted to sign to us before she passed back out. Neither my partner nor I knew what she was trying to tell us due to not understanding sign language.

I remember that day, because it was the one time I felt like I couldn't truly understand the situation at hand. We had no translator. She had no family. We rushed her into the hospital, and attempted to discuss the situation with a few nurses and doctors who shrugged us off.

Ever since that day, I have wanted to learn sign language. In high school, we had to complete two years of a foreign language, and yet, sign language was not one of them. The only options were Spanish and French. Personally, I took multiple years in Spanish, but never once ran into a Spanish speaking person who could not understand English.

That is what makes sign language so important: the fact that they do not get to choose what language they speak. They truly cannot hear and sign language is their only form of communication. Why should others always change their communication style for us when we have every capability to adjust ours?

I believe every person should know the alphabet in sign language in case of an emergency. Many people learn how to do CPR for emergencies, so why is this not an emergency? It truly felt like that woman was in our arms about to die all because we could not understand if she was allergic to something, or if she knew the cause for her random out of consciousness.

All in all, I believe sign language needs more emphasis in school. Students in high school love to ask the question “when will I ever use this outside of studying for a test?” To answer that question: one may never know when they will use this, and hopefully they may never have to, but they will be grateful when that time comes and they have prior knowledge of it. Just like CPR.