For many, CPR is just a helpful skill to have that may never be used. For John East, a current PSU sophomore, his knowledge of CPR may have saved a young boy from death on a rainy Massachusetts night. Here is his first-hand account:
It all happened so fast. I was on my way home to help my family with raking for the weekend. I was driving on 495 south in Mass. and cruising down the right lane on a rainy night. Within a matter of a few seconds about 400 yards up in the same lane I saw two red lights quickly fly into the woods about 30 yards up a hill.
Two months ago I was certified in CPR and AED thanks to Plymouth State Recreational Programs. The only thought on my mind at that moment was that someone was in trouble, and I couldn’t just continue driving by. I wasn’t the first person on the scene. There was a woman that was directly behind the car.
I ran up the hill to find the car wedged between two trees, a cracked windshield and a young boy on the ground with the woman over his body asking, “Do you know CPR?” I quickly responded “yes,” and she told me that we were going to switch off after every series and move to the same beat. His head was bleeding rapidly and I took off my shirt to wrap around his head to slow the bleeding.
The woman started the first series and I dialed 9-1-1. I was informed that an ambulance was on the highway and several minutes away. About three to four minutes after the call, the ambulance arrived with an AED. I was performing CPR when they removed his shirt to attach the AED and was instructed by the paramedic to step away.
[I remember] standing in the light rain with no shirt and catching the first real look at the woman and her shaking her head. I had never been in a spot like this before and didn’t know what to expect. After the second shock, the boy’s eyes opened and he was throwing up.I remember being pulled away with the woman by a police officer to his car to give our information. The boy was placed on a stretcher and rushed to the local hospital. I was leaning against the right front tire of the police car when for the first time I remember hearing the sirens. I was checked for my CPR card and all my information. I was given a jacket to wear and asked to tell them this story. I didn’t know if I was ever going to hear what happened to the boy after the last time I saw him.
On Sunday morning, I received a phone call from a random woman who told me that she was Ryan’s mom, the boy in the accident. She wanted to let me know that he was doing better and wanted to meet me. They asked for me to visit on Monday. I arrived on Monday with my mom at the Milford Hospital and at the entrance were Ryan’s mother and father. I introduced myself and instantly Ryan’s mom hugged me and, crying, said, “I never thought that you would be so young.” I didn’t know how to respond other than to tell them that I stopped because I knew it was the right thing to do.
[I remember] trying to hold strong as I entered to meet Ryan for the first time. I walked in holding his mother’s arm as she introduced me. Ryan broke into tears saying, “I have never met you before, but you were in my dreams last night.” As I stayed with Ryan and his family for a while, I learned a lot about myself and Ryan. He [is] a senior in high school and plays football. As I went to leave home that weekend I remember walking out of the door and looking at my parents and saying, “I love you.” Tomorrow is not guaranteed, but your words of today are.