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Heartline Magazine July - September 2007
Service from the heart
By Tony Cumberbatch
“Capture the young and they will grow up
with it”. That is the philosophy of Ryan Selby, as he looks at
his role as a volunteer instructor in the Emergency Cardiac Care
programme of the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Barbados.
 Mr. Selby is one of a number of instructors
who conduct the Foundation's Basic Life Support and First Aid
courses, an important plank in the Foundation's outreach to the
community.
“The BLS course is quite intense and
comprehensive, and deals largely with what we call “the chain of
survival” Mr. Selby said, “it teaches what you can do to give
someone a chance of life in those first few critical moments
after a heart attack or stroke, before medical help arrives. The
course also teaches how to identify warning signs of heart
attack or stroke.”
The First Aid instruction, he explained,
covers the management of medical and trauma-led injuries, the
treatment of shock, burns, limb and extremity trauma, including
lacerations, wounds, bleeding and fractures, also poisonings,
electrocution, respiratory difficulties like asthma and smoke
inhalation, also common medical emergencies such as low blood
sugar and low blood pressure. Participants are also instructed
in the use of the Automated External Defibrillator (AED), a
simple but revolutionary device that restarts the dying heart.
 “The Heart & Stroke Foundation is doing an
excellent job, with highly trained instructors, who give yeoman
service to the Foundation,” Mr. Selby said, “but there is much
more to be done. We have to actively take the programme into the
community, to schools, to youth groups, to organizations and
individuals wherever we find them. Recently, we concluded
training sessions for a good number of girl guides, also to a
group of boy scouts. That was heartening, for these young people
will use the knowledge not only for themselves, but will also
pass it on to their families and friends.”
Mr. Selby is Chief Petty Officer, a senior
non-commissioned officer in the Barbados Coast Guard.
He enlisted in the Barbados Defence Force in
November 1979, and was assigned to the infantry. He was
transferred to the Barbados Coast Guard in 1981 where he still
serves today. He is presently Training Officer and Dive Officer
for the Barbados Coast Guard.
Mr. Selby received his early education at
Roebuck Primary School and the St. Leonard's Boys Secondary
School. After joining the military he successfully completed
several military and maritime courses, overseas and locally,
during an active career. These include Damage Control and
Firefighting at the United States Coast Guard Academy,
Engineering Watch Keeping, Marine Engineering, and Marine
Engineer Technician at the Canadian Coast Guard College. He has
served as the Engineering Officer and as a Medical Technician on
board the Barbados Coast Guard Flagship HMBS Trident.
As a trained Field Emergency Medic and Dive
Medic, Mr. Selby is certified to work with the Hyperbaric
Chamber, tending to casualties of dive accidents and special
types of medical cases that may require hyperbaric treatment. He
has undergone Pervade training and has performed duties
throughout the Caribbean as an RSS Instructor for the past 13
years. He is also a qualified PADI Divemaster, Master Diver, and
is also trained as a Naval Diver.
Some four years ago Ryan Selby did the Basic
Life Support (BLS) course at the Heart & Stroke Foundation of
Barbados, and immediately decided to become involved in a
meaningful way in the work of the Foundation. He enrolled in and
completed the instructor's course, and volunteered his services
as an instructor. Today he is one of the lead instructors in the
Foundation's Emergency Cardiac Care programme, teaching the
Basic Life Support (BLS) and First Aid courses.
So involved is he that, as he says with a
smirk, but with honesty, when he is not on duty at the Coast
Guard he spends all of his spare time at the Heart & Stroke
Foundation or somewhere out and about with its activities.
“Two things drive me” he said, “one is my
love for the medical field, and secondly, I like to help people.
It is really a privilege to teach people how to save lives, and
also to be able to do so myself.”
At present the Foundation has sixteen
instructors, but is in the process of recruiting and training
more as it intensifies its training programme across Barbados
and further afield. “There is definitely a need for more
instructors”, agreed Mr. Selby. He also thinks that the business
community should get more involved with the work of the
Foundation and its various programmes, not only in terms of
getting their own personnel trained in useful and lifesaving
skills, but also in giving assistance with regard to funding.
“There is always the demand for continuous training, and this
needs financing to cover equipment and resources, for the gym
and the classroom, also for travelling and operational expenses,
locally and overseas.”
 Mr. Selby has himself travelled overseas to
conduct courses in BLS and Heart Saver First Aid on behalf of
the Foundation, including to Antigua, Dominica, and St. Lucia.
He is also a certain and willing volunteer for the Foundation
when it participates in events such as health fairs, seminars
and other occasions where information can be passed on to the
public through demonstrations, displays and handouts.
Mr. Selby, whose hobbies are martial arts
and shooting pistol, also teaches a water safety course at
hotels, and to youth and community groups. He is the recipient
of the Barbados Defence Force Service Medal of Honour, the
Memoirist Service Medal, the RSS Service Medal, the Grenada
Service Medal and two commendations.
“My advice to everyone is to get trained in
First Aid,” He said. “It is a skill that is necessary, not only
at home, but anywhere you go.” And he concluded: “I love my role
with the ECC programme. Giving assistance to someone in need is
my way of giving back what was taught to me. By extension,
teaching makes me an ambassador for the Heart & Stroke
Foundation, The BDF and The Barbados Coast Guard.”
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