Students in San Antonio, Texas, took action to save the life of a teacher who went into cardiac arrest during a skateboarding club meeting.
Adam Compton, a teacher at MacArthur High School, was with members of the skateboarding club he sponsors when he went into cardiac arrest on November 7th. According to KENS5.
“I was skating really calmly that day trying to conserve my energy and try harder tomorrow, and what I remember was sitting there for a little bit,” Compton told KENS5.
Mr Compton said he didn't remember much of what happened next, but students said the 46-year-old man failed a trick, fell down and then began hyperventilating. One student called 9-1-1 after the teacher fainted, and others called for the school's athletic trainer, Amanda Boyd.
“There were two main thoughts going through my head: 'Oh my god, this can't happen,' and then I have to do something about it,” said student Aidan Anthony. Gonzalez said.
“So I turned him over and looked for a pulse, and I couldn't find a pulse. From there, I knew he needed CPR, so I started compressions,” Boyd said. he told the magazine.
“There was definitely no life in him, so it's hard to process that at this point,” Boyd said. said KSAT. (Related article: 'A life was saved': Florida Surgeon General rushes to help man suffering heart attack)
Heroic Texas high school students rescue teacher in cardiac arrest: 'Come on, breathe!' https://t.co/bqDkn1vm4Y pic.twitter.com/ZqTqgD9VxK
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Anthony Gonzalez and another student, Stephen Amaro, ran to get an automated external defibrillator (AED). Amaro and Boyd applied AED pads to Compton and gave him a shock, which Boyd said revived him.
“I got certified in AED and CPR a few weeks before the incident happened,” Amaro told KENS5.
“I opened everything up and put the pads on him, and that's when the paramedics came and let them take over,” Amaro told KSAT. “I never thought I'd have to do it in person because it's unexpected. And it's a once-in-a-lifetime thing and should never happen to anyone.”
Compton was rushed to hospital, where she learned she had a genetic heart condition that caused her to go into cardiac arrest.
“Ever since I was a kid, we always thought it was a heart murmur,” he says.
Compton, who now wears a pacemaker, has since returned to school but has not yet returned to skating.
“I'm really humbled to be here,” he told KENS5.
“He's not only our teacher, but also one of our best friends,” Anthony Gonzalez said.
