Cosmetology students practice CPR techniques in a class to prepare for future situations that may require a knowledge of first aid.
To save a life: GAs, students become unlikely heroes
Paramedics save lives every day. But often, when no professionals are available, the heroic actions of everyday people avert tragedy.
Miss Laura Spencer, a speech graduate assistant, is one of those people. While teaching a section of freshman speech earlier this semester, one of her students, who had been coughing, left the room for a drink of water. A few minutes later, she noticed him outside the classroom door, bent over and waving his arms wildly. Assuming he was kidding around, she continued lecturing. It was when he opened the door, tried to say something and motioned her to the back of the room that she knew something serious was going on.
As her students stared at her, Miss Spencer’s first-aid training kicked into gear. “I knew you first have to make sure they are in fact choking,” she said.
She asked him if he could breathe, and he shook his head “no.” “I asked if he could speak. If he could, it would mean he could breathe,” she said. He shook his head “no” again.
Miss Spencer got behind her student, wrapped her arms around him and gave him four abdominal thrusts with her fist. Finally, a cough drop dislodged from his throat and fell from his mouth onto the floor.
“I think it is important to be able to perform first aid in any situation,” Miss Spencer said. “You never know when someone will need it.”
Major Brian Harr, one of the Public Safety officers responsible for the medical training the force receives, credits Miss Spencer with saving a life. “Laura used training she had received five years ago and kept her cool to do what was necessary,” he said. “[She] quite literally saved this student’s life.”
“It could have happened to any teacher on any day in any classroom. I’m thankful I was prepared,” Miss Spencer said.
Another hero, Rory Johnson, a senior Bible major, wasn’t expecting anything more than a quiet Saturday morning at work in the library computer labs this semester. A student approached him as he was straightening up in the back lab and told him someone was having an epileptic seizure in the front lab. Rory told himself to keep calm as he headed to help.
Josh Acree, a senior Bible major, was holding the student to his chair to prevent him from injury. Rory directed Josh to lower the student to the floor and keep him on his back as he called Public Safety.
“Thankfully, the student came out of it after a few minutes,” Rory said. “The whole seizure lasted about three minutes or so.”
Rory decided to read up on seizures after the incident. Although he doesn’t have any formal first-aid training, his quick thinking and common sense helped avoid harm for the student.
Miss Jane Miller, Rory’s boss, is used to dealing with seizures since several people close to her have epilepsy. She said Rory did all of the right things.
“I know a lot of people tend to panic when they see a seizure and don’t know how to react,” she said. “Rory kept his head and went above and beyond what his normal ‘job description’ describes.”
