Anybody can be a hero. All it takes for a person to be considered a hero is a strong sense of courage and the determination to make a difference. In today’s modern world, there are a number of heroes in our midst, albeit not readily seen by most people. Such heroes are actually just like you and me – ordinary people who made extraordinary decisions in times of stress. One such stressful moment where many have proven their heroic ability is when the person next to them suddenly falls unconscious. This is what exactly happened to Shannon Coffey, Brian Cathey and Blaine Norris.
For most people, it was one fine day in Watkinsville, GA. For four people, however, it is a day that would forever change the way Coffey, Cathey, Norris, and Karen Hemphill treat each other. It was Coffey who heard it first – a thud that signaled someone had fallen on the floor. That was when Cathey and Norris rushed in to find Karen Hemphill on the floor. With no discernible breathing from Hemphill nor any heartbeat, the trio jumped into action and started resuscitating Hemphill. Cathey took over the responsibility of calling 911 while Coffey did a mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. On the other hand, Norris kept going with the chest compressions until the paramedics arrived. What’s amazing was the fact that the last time Norris had undergone training for CPR was when he was still in high school. They were actually not quite sure if they were doing the compressions right and even felt that they might have broken a few ribs. To make sure that they would really be able to save Hemphill, they had to verify with the 911 operator if they were doings correctly. At one point, Cathey even called his girlfriend who had just recently undergone a training in CPR to check if what they are doing is correct.
When the paramedics arrived, a good 14 minutes after the call, the AED was used in order to restore the heart’s beat. That was also the only time that the trio stopped what they were doing. It was reported that Hemphill’s heartbeat was already normal when she was loaded on the ambulance.
Suffice to say, the quick thinking of the trio was one of the reasons why Hemphill was able to make it through the ordeal, regardless of the broken ribs. Of course, they were only able to do that because of their background in CPR. Fortunately, in today’s world, CPR has been simpler and easier to administer. If, in the old days, you had to keep track of the number of compressions that you need to do as well as the artificial respiration that you have to administer, today, you only have to worry about the depth of the compressions that you make plus the quantity that you administer in a span of one minute.
In order to be a hero, you have to make sure that you are ready to face challenges like these. One way of doing that would be by enrolling yourself in a CPR training and certification program.
