I guess many of us on the site are parents and can doubtless cite all manner of medical problems ( some serious maybe ) that cropped up with our children. That is not the main thrust of my question. I was a teacher for nearly 40 years. We had to have regular basic medical / first aid training (reviewed /revised) every three years. As a sports coach, I had to receive adadditional training for basic sports injuries as well as attend courses (again, every three years) connected with resuscitation etc (Swimming ).
My question is this. Has anyone (whilst not being a fully qualified doctor / paramedic ) ever found themselves in some kind of medical situation whereby they have found themselves horribly uncomfortable? During the course of 40 years I had to deal with the occasional broken arm....knew what do when a kid severed an artery ( tripped after running and went headlong through a plate glass door), even once had to use an Epipen on a boy suffering from anaphylaxis. But....most years passed without major incidents thank goodness.
A few years ago I was in charge of 16 boys ( aged 11 ) during a residential football (soccer ) tournament in the NE of England. This was an elite squad with boys from 9 schools across SE England. I was in overall charge of everything / everyone. A big responsibility for a full week (24/7). I had an FA coach with me who was responsible for the actual training (I only had the lowest award for basic coaching ) & he had a 20 yr old FA Junior coach to assist him. I chipped in with the football side as necessary, but I handled every single other aspect of the visit.
I knew the boys quite well and I had met their parents. Many parents were there in support...but they stayed in different hotels and enjoyed their evenings unencumbered, as their sons were our responsibility! !! It was very hard work, but mostly it was fun. You would not believe the enormous amount of admin connected with visits of this type. I will not bore you with it all...let us just say that it was very complex and very time consuming . However. ...all of the parents had completed and signed very detailed and complicated medical consent forms. I was the named person in authority to deal with anything medical. I like to think I did an excellent job during the 3 tours I organised.
But there was one really awkward moment one year. Like I said, we had fun, but the other coaches and I kept the boys in order too. Without discipline and order, 16 11 yr old boys would be apt to run riot. Child protection / Safeguarding issues were strictly laid down. I never visited individual boys without a second person being present. Doing the rounds of their rooms prior to bedtime was fine if there were 2 or 3 in a room. I mean, it was fine....but the rules were there as much for my good as theirs.
The boys knew that they could approach any of us if they had any problems, worries, concerns etc....although I was the official leader for Pastoral care, medicines etc. Anyway I was visiting one room of three and encouraging them to settle down, just chatting and joking with them ( humour always works well ). I had a basic evening spiel about calming down and getting a good night's rest and asking them if they were all OK as it had been a tiring day. No aches and pains coming on, no niggles etc (We always did this as minor knocks / bruises / sprains etc sometimes only became apparent several hours after the event).
So I was a bit taken aback (but had to stay calm and very professional) when one boy just said 'Mr *******....my willy really hurts.' Cue much sniggering and giggling from his room mates.'Oh, sorry to hear that,' I said in measured tones (keeping a straight face all the while), 'were you kicked in the groin during a match...or did anyone blast the ball into you there?' 'No...' he replied. 'It's just sore. It's really itchy, It hurts.' Even more giggling from his friends. I glared at them and they stopped. 'Is it painful when you oass water?' I asked. He looked bemused.''When you pee'( stifled laughter).
'No.' he said. 'It just hurts. Will you look at it?' (Screams of laughter). 'Shut up!!' He yelled at his mates,'Shut up! It hurts. I don't mind Sir seeing it. It's only like going to the doctor!!' I had to think / act fast. 'I can treat cuts bruises and sprains', I said.'I'm not qualified to examine you like that. I 'll be back in a minute ." I went to get some some soothing cream and anti - histamine lotion. I instructed him to apply it himself before bed andcthe next morning after showering.
The next morning, he missed part of training as I had made a local doctor's
appointment with him. I took him to the surgery, but he saw tbe doctor alone. I did speak to the doctor afterwards. It was fine, some unspecifed minor irritation causing a rash. My actions had been spot on, He was prescribed some proprietary cream and was back playing the very same day.
Altnough he was quite open, unabashed and seemingly not worried about letting me 'examine' him intimately.,,,I just thought that it was not appropriate, witnesses or not!!! A few days after the tour, his mother came to see me. She thanked me for the sensitive (her words) manner in which I dealt with the delicate (her words) situation and apologised for her son being so 'forward'( her words). After a little more chat we both actually burst out laughing.....