A 9-year-old boy is alive thanks to a quick responding crisis team at his elementary school in Miami-Dade who jumped in when he suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed.
It was around lunchtime Friday when the boy collapsed in a hallway at Joella C. Good Elementary after walking up a flight of steps.
He went into cardiac arrest and had no pulse. His reading teacher heard the commotion and ran over.
“I began to do the compressions, just hoping to get some form of a response from him,” said Dianelys Descalzo.
Jorge Para, an aftercare manager and community school specialist, along with physical education teacher Todd Peterseil, were next to arrive.
“I felt like Jorge and I were so calm, no one was screaming, no one was panic in our ears,” said Peterseil.
He administered about a dozen compressions, Para then unpacked the AED machine, and one shock was all that was needed to bring the boy back to life.
“After one shock he started crying,” said Peterseil, noting how crying was good, a clear sign that the boy had been revived.
Medics arrived and rushed him to the hospital.
The cardiac response team at the school is feeling good about how they handled the situation.
“I don’t want to take this opportunity to be thanked,” Para said. “On the contrary, I would like to thank the family, and I would like to thank my partners here at the school.”
The boy is now a heart patient and is waiting on a transplant.
