BRISTOL, Tenn. (AP) — Officials say a Tennessee teenager who learned CPR at school used the training to save the life of an unresponsive toddler.
Kaela Eads said she was just finishing her shift at a fast-food restaurant in Bristol on Tuesday when a woman ran up to the drive-thru window holding a small child. Eads said she told the workers that her son wasn’t breathing and asked if anyone knew CPR. Eads said instinct took over and she ran outside to help.
Darrell Mears, a Bristol Tennessee Fire Department paramedic, told the Bristol Herald Courier that the CPR administered by Eads before emergency crews arrived saved the child’s life.
“Early recognition is so important during a medical emergency,” Mears said. “If you don’t start doing compressions within six minutes, the brain can start to die because it needs oxygen.”
Eads said she visited the boy at the hospital the next day and he was doing better.
Eads, who is 18, said she doesn’t consider herself a hero, but hopes anyone who sees someone in need would help them.
She says the experience will stay with her and she’s considering a career in the medical field.
“It touches my heart,” Eads said. “From seeing that blank stare in his eyes to seeing him at the hospital, it was a total change for the good. It’s something I’ll remember forever and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to help save a life and to know that he’s doing OK makes it even better.”
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