Most of us go our entire lives without witnessing a life or death crisis, and even less people find themselves in situations which may require them to intervene.
Well, you can scratch 16 year old Alex Norwood off of that list.
Today.com reports that the Rockdale County High School JV first baseman, and everyone else in attendance, found themselves focused in on home plate; where veteran umpire Woody Reagin had collapsed after suffering an apparent heart attack. Rockdale’s coach, Jerrid Harris rushed to Reagin’s side and yelled for assistance. He asked if anyone knew CPR and the first to respond was Norwood. Harris told a local TV news station:
“As we’re tearing off his shirt and getting his chest protector off, that’s when I asked, ‘Who all knows CPR? And the voice behind me was confident, quick, and said, ‘I know how to do CPR, I’m ready to go.’ And I turned around and I saw Alex. He got in there and started chest compressions immediately.”
Norwood had just received his CPR training two weeks earlier as part of his lifeguard certification. Incredibly, he was able to conduct a series of 30 chest compressions before the paramedics were able to reach Reagin.
“When he first collapsed, I didn’t really know what was going on,’’ Norwood told TODAY.com. “Someone in the crowd said he was having a seizure. Coach Harris was the first one out there. He was trying to talk to him and he couldn’t, and they realized his heart had stopped. I know CPR, so when I actually went out there, I wasn’t thinking about it. I guess it was just instinct. I wasn’t nervous when I did it.”
The fact that this young man had the courage, within only two weeks of being trained and certified, to intervene and help to save this man’s life is truly amazing. If you have ever been unfortunate enough to have been a part of a scenario such as this, then you know just how difficult and shocking it can be.
According to Yahoo Sports, doctors expect Reagin to make a full recovery. Kudos to young Alex and the rest of the first-responders, if it wasn’t for them jumping into service as quickly as they did, the results undoubtedly would have been different.