Leo Gillick
A 14-year-old boy collapsed from a heart attack at his middle school, escaping death only because of the quick thinking and training of school staff.
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Steve Sullivan dropped his 14-year-old son off at Parkview Middle School, where he is a student, for a regular day. But shortly after he left, his son collapsed to the ground. “We didn’t even have a clue that there was something wrong,” his father told WLKY. “You know, I took him to school every day. And, you know, an hour later, he drops dead.”
The boy fell to the ground, and his heart stopped for several minutes. If it wasn’t for his school resource officer, it would have been his last day. But they jumped into action, providing life-saving CPR for the collapsed student.
The school called his parents and the emergency services while the school staff member kept him alive using manual heart pumping. Due to a collapsed lung, the 14-year-old student’s heart had stopped.
A Domino Effect On Students’ Heart
14-year-old Brendan Sullivan’s heart had stopped due to a collapsed lung brought on by asthma. Dr. Aaron Calhoun explained how one thing led to another, almost ending the boy’s life. “It’s a condition that happens when a part or some of the lung ruptures, effectively inlets pressurized air into one portion of the chest. That air pressure effectively pushes the heart over. It can squeeze blood out of the heart and can stop the heart if severe enough.”
When his heart stopped, CPR was administered by both the school staff and the emergency services, which kept him alive. If it wasn’t for their training, he would have almost certainly lost his life. It is an incredibly valuable skill to have. In situations like this, it is the difference between life and death for a young student.
Now, Brendan is up and about. he is recovering in his local hospital and is able to walk around the ward with a new lease of life. “That’s amazing for a child who last week was dead for ten minutes,” his father said. “Makes me think of life differently,” he added.
