March is Red Cross Month
Camellia Lowry
Summit resident Camellia Lowry is a busy, working mom. With two young children at home and plenty of neighborhood kids in the house, she had been thinking about taking a CPR & AED (Automated External Defibrillator) class for quite awhile. Last Columbus Day she registered for a class at our chapter.
“I just felt that having these skills was something I should take the time to do – part of being a responsible parent – in case there was ever an emergency.” Little did she know that 48 hours later her skills would save a life.
On Monday morning, Camellia returned to the trading floor of the New York financial institution where she works. “At about 9:40am, I heard some shouting and saw a crowd of people. One of our employees was on the floor, unconscious and not breathing. I announced that I had CPR training and immediately my skills kicked in. I yelled for someone to call 911 and told someone else to stand at the elevator to direct medical help to us.”
Camellia spent about 8 – 10 minutes performing chest compressions and rescue breaths before medical personnel arrived with an AED. “The AED restored functional heartbeats but the medical personnel told me that my ability to perform CPR and keep oxygen-rich blood flowing to the vital organs had probably saved this man’s life. “
Camellia later learned that the victim was only 29 years old and had a very rare genetic disorder that caused a ventricular fibrillation that led to cardiac arrest.
“Although this was an incredibly frightening experience, knowing that I had the skills needed to help this man was a powerful feeling. Within a week more than 10 of my friends had signed up for CPR & AED classes.” To register for a class click here
