A Little Girl’s Life In A Teacher’s Hands—

Circulating The Secret To Lifesaving CPR

By Kendra Bobowick

Jason Christian felt a young girl’s tenuous hold on life slipping away as he performed CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation).

“I thought, ‘this child is going to die right in my arms,’ but I kept going,” he said.

Within days of completing school nurse Barbara Reilly’s CPR course at Newtown Middle School where he teaches physical education, Mr Christian’s skills were tested. In November the 27-year-old found himself the only person to take action in a crisis.

A mother driving a minivan stopped in the parking lot of an Ansonia fast food restaurant near Mr Christian’s Housatonic Valley home and screamed for someone to help her 6-year-old daughter.

“Basically I just heard the mom crying from her van and ran over,” he said. “She was screaming that her child was not breathing. She was hysterical.”

He said that as he ran toward her, “She just dropped her daughter to the ground by the side of the van. It was a little strange. The mom laid her daughter on the ground.”

Describing the near lifeless little girl he said, “She didn’t look well. She was ghost white and her eyes rolled back. Her veins in her arms were standing out.”

He admits that he froze for a second. “It was scary,” he said.

He then checked for breathing or choking, and did a “food swipe” to make certain nothing was in her mouth.

“I felt a really faint heartbeat and I think it was starting to slow down,” he said.

He also claimed that he spent a few seconds remembering the CPR procedures, and then “administered CPR for two to three minutes.”

He got no response to his efforts, however, which is when he began to feel panicked that the little girl would die.

Mr Christian continued his CPR “for another couple minutes,” he said. His efforts began to work.

“I thought I saw movement in her lips and tongue and felt it was a good sign,” he said. “Then I saw color coming back and after a few minutes she made a sort of gurgle.”

He also remembers feeling her heart beating faster, he said.

“I just kept going,” said Mr Christian.

Police arrived and soon after the emergency personnel arrived and placed an oxygen mask over her face.

“Then her color really came back,” Mr Christian said. The little girl left in an ambulance.

Despite the dramatic events linking his life to the little girl’s, he does not know her name, he said.

 

New Standards

This week concludes the American Heart Association’s (AHA) National Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Week. Classes are offered at Danbury Hospital this weekend, and in town throughout the year. Updated CPR guidelines will be in effect, according to Kristy Dixon, RN, MS, CCRN, clinical nurse specialist, also the heart association’s training coordinator.

Rather than teaching the traditional compression to breath ratio of 15 compressions to 2 breaths for adults, and 5 compressions to 1 breath for children, standards have changed. A newer guideline calls for a 30:2 ratio for all ages.

“It is easier to remember and there is no difference in ratios for age groups,” said Ms Dixon.

The updated standard is beneficial for several reasons. “With more compressions, the more blood and oxygen profusions get to the brain and heart,” Ms Dixon said. “That increases the chances.”

She views the change as a step forward.

“What you did before worked and we’re trying to improve it,” she said.

The AHA website, Americanheart.org, provides additional information.

Newtown Ambulance Makes A Change

Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps member Laurie Veillette admits that the need for CPR has risen. All Newtown schools now have defibrillators, which she feels pushes the desire for CPR training.

“Once you get [defibrillators] you suddenly see a need for certification,” she said. This and other rising demands for CPR instruction have prompted a change in the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps.

“Brand new as of this week,” is an organized instructions schedule, she said. The ambulance corps now offers courses at particular times.

“This was decided because so many people want CPR,” said Ms Veillette. Rather than granting individual requests, the ambulance corps will provide instruction for adult, infant and child, and defibrillator training during a seven-hour course open once a month.

Participants can sign up for one of two sessions, she said.

An all-day course or a two-part course will be available. The two-part series, including this month’s, will be on the third and fourth Wednesday from 6:30 to 10 pm; the all-day instruction, also including this month’s, will be the second Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm.

Previously, the instruction was random.

“People could call us and we would do our best to meet the needs they had,” Ms Veillette said.

It’s a Lifesaver

Both Ms Veillette and Danbury Hospital Emergency Department’s Dr Dave Charash, who is also vice president of the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps, agree with the critical importance of CPR, in combination with other simple steps that can save a life.

“The most important thing is to get the EMS involved,” Dr Charash said.

“I think that when you successfully do CPR it is gratifying and makes a difference,” he said. “If it’s simply a matter of providing oxygen and compressions, it is rewarding.”

Ms Veillette offers a compelling reason to learn CPR.

She said, “If you’re the first person on the scene, you have only precious minutes. A person can only be without oxygen for so long and CPR allows time to get air and oxygen flowing in the time between the [emergency] call and the time help arrives.”

Recognizing signs of heart attack or stroke, and calling 911 are imperative steps to saving someone.

During a crisis, “The most important thing to do is get [emergency services] involved quickly,” Dr Charash said. “It could save lives.”

Giving an example, Ms Veillette said, “Help may not be close enough when ‘Aunt Nellie’ goes down. The first few minutes of recognizing signs or administering CPR are so precious.”

Early recognition and early detection also increase a victim’s odds of survival, said Dr Charash.

He said, “ CPR and [calling] 911 are crucial. Basically you have minutes before there is permanent brain damage.”

An emergency can happen quickly, said Ms Veillette.

“You need to do [CPR] right away— it’s something you need to know,” she said. “An EMT is not going to be right next to you.”

As an instructor who works for the Red Cross, Newtown Middle School nurse Barbara Reilly advocates CPR.

The general public “can start getting oxygen to the brain before a medical team arrives,” she said. “Having a citizen responder is wonderful.”

She said that all someone has to do is “keep the circulation going, that’s why anyone can do it.”

Regarding an emergency situation, she said, “If you are there, you have the capacity, you don’t need fancy machines.”

She hopes to convey the wonder she feels at the effectiveness of CPR.

“You can get a person’s heart beating again with your bare hands and breath,” she said. “It’s a fabulous skill to have and to teach, but you hope you never have to use it.”

Seeing The Signs

“The most important thing with CPR is recognizing an emergency and seeking help,” said Ms Reilly. Recognizing signs of heart attack and stroke also are critical skills, professionals agree.

Don’t disregard complaints of discomfort in the chest, Dr Charash said.

“Some people think they are having agita and don’t seek medical help. Anything lasting more than 15 minutes — seek a doctor,” he said.

Ms Veillette offered her perspective.

“It is so easy to walk by someone who is having an emergency and they might not be saying anything at all,” she said. “It could be Aunt Sally in the corner and she might be confusing something with indigestion, and maybe it is…”

Left arm pain, starting to look frightened, and feeling a sense of doom, however, are serious complaints, she said. “Then the person might say something.”

Hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, smoking, a family history, “These are all risk factors,” Dr Charash said. “If there is pain or shortness of breath, seek help.”

Ms Veillette said, “The classic pain feels like there is an elephant sitting on your chest, and sweating.”

She warns that the best thing to do, after calling for help, is to stay with the person who is experiencing symptoms of a possible heart attack.

“You can get help, but you can’t stop a heart attack from happening,” she said.

She also offers another beneficial tip. Find out the person’s medical history, ask about medications, and find out the location of medical information such as File For Life, which is traditionally placed on a refrigerator.

“Because once that person goes down, that information goes with them,” Ms Veillette said.

Dr Charash itemized the less familiar signs leading to heart disease and stroke.

Nausea and profound weakness could be atypical signs of heart disease, also on the list are jaw pain, neck pain, tooth pain, ear pain, and back pain, he said.

 

How Does It Feel?

Mr Christian said, “A bystander said, ‘You probably saved that girl.’ “I still wonder how she is.”  Mr Christian never learned the girl’s name or where she was from. Hospitals would not give him information either, he said.

At the time of the crisis, Mr Christian said he was very nervous.

“I wanted to be sure that what I was doing was helping. I knew it was life or death for her,” he said. “It was an unexplainable feeling to have someone’s life in my hands.”

His ability to save a life took four hours of classroom time in Ms Reilly’s CPR course, he said.

Danbury Hospital’s Department of Nursing Education offers free “CPR for Family and Friends,” which teaches participants rescuer’s skills in CPR and relief of foreign-body airway obstruction. Classes cover the AHA chain of survival and signs of heart attack, cardiac arrest, stroke, and choking in adults, infants, and children.

The American Heart Association recommends classes for new parents, grandparents, babysitters, and anyone interested in learning rescue skills.

Remaining classes at Danbury Hospital will be held on the sixth floor of the North Building on Thursday, April 6, from 6:30 to 9:30 pm, and Saturday April 8, from 9 am to 12 pm and 12:30 to 3:30 pm. Classes teach CPR skills and provide information only. Participants will not receive a certification card. Park in the Blue Visitor’s Parking Lot on Hospital Avenue and enter the Main Lobby. To register, call the American Heart Association directly at 877-242-4277. For more information, contact Kristy Dixon, RN, MS, CCRN, clinical nurse specialist, CTICU, ICU/CCU and Telemetry, at 797-7048.

The AHA website, Americanheart.org, also provides additional information.

Locally, the Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps course now offering adult, child, and infant training in a two part series monthly including this month’s on the third and fourth Wednesday from 6:30 to 10 pm; the all-day instruction, also including this month, will be the second Saturday from 9 am to 4 pm. Call 270-4380.

(The American Red Cross of Western Connecticut recognizes the 2006 Heroes and Grace Recipients. An honorary breakfast took place Thursday morning, April 6, at the Amber Room in Danbury. Mr Christian has earned recognition in the category Emergency Response, Adult. Also awarded was Sandy Hook resident Karlyn Sturmer, for Animal Rescue.)