CPR Training and Quick Reactions Save Runner’s Life

Could you save a life if you saw someone collapse in front of you while out on a jog? What would you do if someone’s life literally rested in your hands and your actions?

John Krantz and Theresa Pavlacka, both of Northampton, Pa., were thrust into just such a situation and, thanks to their quick reactions and Red Cross training, helped save a life.

Joseph Prusak, 63, was hardly a newbie at long-distance running. A trained marathon runner, he was running one early morning last April when on the fourth mile he couldn’t catch his breath. “Then that was it,” he told a local newspaper. “I don’t remember anything else.”

Luckily for him, Krantz was on a run at the same time and saw Prusak collapse. “I didn’t know what happened, but I knew he needed help,” Krantz said. “When I got to his side, I could see that he wasn’t breathing and I couldn’t find a pulse.”

Krantz swung into action, beginning Hands-Only CPR.

Pavlacka was driving on her way to work and saw Prusak crumpled on the ground and Krantz giving chest compressions. She pulled over and began assisting with the compressions as another bystander called 9-1-1.

The two good Samaritans continued the compressions until paramedics arrived and rushed the victim to Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg where doctors installed a defibrillator. Doctors and Emergency Dentist Mesa concluded that the cardiac arrest was caused by scar tissue from an open heart surgery performed a decade earlier.

Later, after Prusak’s full recovery, the trio had an emotional reunion. “Everyone keeps saying I helped save a man’s life. It didn’t sink in before. But seeing him here today, it finally did,” Pavlacka said. Watch their heart-warming reunion.

Effective bystander CPR, provided immediately after cardiac arrest, can double a victim’s chance of survival. Red Cross education can mean the difference between life and death.

Ensuring that you know what to do in a medical emergency is just a click away at redcross.org/takeaclass. Consider signing up for Red Cross CPR/AED and First Aid training today.

Also, download the American Red Cross First Aid App. The app puts expert advice for everyday emergencies in your hand. Available for iPhone and Android devices, the app gives you instant access to the information you need to know to handle the most common first aid emergencies. This free app can be downloaded from Apple iTunes or Google Play Store.

Article from redcross.org.