On December 6, 2007, Congress passed a bill that designated the first week in June as “National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) and Automated External Defibrillator (AED) Week.” This designation is intended to promote the necessity of CPR and AED training and to reduce death from sudden cardiac arrest.
There are countless examples of ways in which CPR and AED training has saved lives all over the United States. Here are just a few examples that stand out:
- In Jacksonville, Florida Boy Scout Leader, Jose Lepervanche was camping with his troop in Georgia when he suddenly collapsed. After calling 9-1-1, scouts came to Lepervanche’s aid using a recently purchased AED and saved his life. Cardiac-related incidents are the number one reason for reported fatalities within the Boy Scouts, highlighting the importance of CPR and AED training. Learn more.
- In Manhattan Beach, California fifteen-year-old Madi Giese was working at a tennis tournament when one of the competitors collapsed. Giese’s junior lifeguard training kicked in and she immediately began to perform CPR on the fallen girl:
“I did about 12 or 13 pumps on her chest, she coughed and then began breathing again. The paramedics were there right away and took over. I didn’t think about it at all at the time, I just saw she needed help and there were literally 25 to 30 people there, and I was shocked that I was the only one who knew CPR…It’s a valuable skill that I learned from participating in the Junior Lifeguard Program. I’ve been doing it every summer since I was 5 and this goes to show they teach valuable skills that can empower even a teenager to save someone’s life.”
- In Milwaukie, Oregon freshman baseball player, Jackson Elkins, fell to one knee and then completely collapsed while having a heart attack in the middle of a game. Athletic trainer Erika Irwin first thought that Elkins was suffering from heat stroke but quickly realized that his heart was not beating. Irwin fell back upon her training to start CPR while another coach called 9-1-1 and a student retrieve the portable AED machine. Irwin, who trains regularly, had only received re-certification within 90-days of the incident. Elkin’s father, Derrick, does not believe his son would have survived without trained staff and a portable AED device:
“They truly saved my son’s life.”
Click here for training resources and ECSI Education Centers in your area that offer CPR and other life-saving training.
Referenced in this blog:
- Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association, Jose Lepervanche
- On National CPR and AED Awareness Week, Share your story
- The Beach Reporter, Junior Lifeguard skills help Mira Costa student Save a Life
- Fox 12, Rex Putnam HS freshman collapses, AED saves his life
