Knoxville teachers save student with AED

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) — A Holston Middle School student was taking a jog on the track and collapsed. It was his teachers who saved his life.

“It’s a very hard experience to explain,” said Daniel Thompson, a P.E. Teacher, who sprang into action. “It was just a situation where I knew I had to do something.”

His first call was to a colleague to call 911 and get an AED.

Thompson stayed with the student and tried to find a pulse and started chest compressions.

“One of the fastest sprints of my life. I was trying to also keep a level head,” said Travis Tipton, another P.E. Teacher who ran for the AED.

Tipton also told a teacher and a student to alert the main office. The school’s first responder team ran to help.

The teachers went through AED training just a few weeks before this happened.

“We practice things and execute them in a game. This was kinda game time for us, to put it in a weird perspective,” Tipton said.

When Assistant Principal Jim Wolfenbarger got to the field, he used the AED to analyze the student’s condition. He said they had to apply shocks multiple times and he performed rescue breathing until an ambulance arrived.

Wolfenbarger said it was the device that saved a young kid’s life.

“I think it was hugely important just having the device on hand and having the staff trained,” Wolfenbarger said.

At Holston Middle School, staff is trained on AED awareness and identifying the signs of sudden cardiac arrest. About two dozen staff are certified in CPR and AED use. They want that number to keep going up.

Source: https://www.local8now.com/content/news/Knoxville-teachers-save-student-with-AED-393476731.html