Consider Charles Curtis as one of the "lucky" ones.
Two years ago, Curtis, a Tampa, Florida high school student, suffered a near-death experience at school. As Curtis was finishing up his final lap in his PE class, he slowed down. And eventually, he passed out.
Curtis told WFTS-TV that he did not know it at the time, but he actually suffered sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), a problem that plagues thousands of Americans every year.
The American Heart Association (AHA) reports that roughly 1,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidents occur daily in the United States. Also, the AHA points out that more than 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrest incidents have already occurred in 2016, yet the overall survival rate for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims is only about 12 percent. This means a whopping 88 percent of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest victims suffer an unnecessary death – perhaps due in part to a lack of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training.
Unlike the majority of SCA victims, Curtis was saved thanks to the CPR efforts of four bystanders. Because without bystander assistance, who knows how this incident might have turned out.
Since his near-death experience, Curtis has launched the World Health and Treatment Club (W.H.A.T.) at his high school. W.H.A.T. encourages students to become emergency first responders by learning hands-only CPR and may empower students with life-saving skills both now and in the future.
Ultimately, CPR training could prove to be the difference between life and death and must be added to the K-12 health curriculum – without exception. When it comes to life-or-death situations, students like Curtis deserve to be saved, and students everywhere deserve the opportunity to become emergency responders and life-savers in their respective communities.
ANYONE can be a life-saver, and ANYONE can learn CPR in a variety of ways, too.
Take Rashad Moore, for instance. According to 21Alive, Moore, a 15-year-old from Fort Wayne, Indiana, recently used life-saving skills he learned from an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants" to save the life of his 64-year-old neighbor.
Or consider Paul Dow, a Manassas, Virginia high school student who recently needed to use CPR skills that he learned as a lifeguard. Fox 5 D.C. reported a high school baseball practice turned into a life-threatening situation after one of Dow's teammates suffered a concussion. Fortunately, Dow performed chest compressions on his teammate until paramedics arrived on scene. Now, Dow's considered a hero in his local community.
Clearly, students can learn CPR from myriad sources – from an episode of "SpongeBob SquarePants" to lifeguard lessons. Incorporating CPR training into the health curriculum, meanwhile, streamlines the CPR learning process for students. As a result, adding CPR to the health curriculum ensures each student will receive the same lessons and can deliver the same life-saving assistance to SCA victims at any location, at any time.
With CPR training included in the health curriculum, students of all ages can reap the benefits of CPR lessons as well.
To better understand why K-12 students need to know how to perform CPR, let's consider Janeth Santos, a 13-year-old from San Bernardino, California.
According to KSAT-TV, Santos saved a 4-year-old boy during her summer vacation – something that might have been impossible without medical classes under her belt. Santos performed a finger sweep of the 4-year-old's mouth, discovering a Jolly Rancher candy blocking his airway. As such, she was able to become a life-saver – literally – and has been recognized by her local community for her courageous efforts.
Then there's high school sophomore Trevon Jackson of Charlottesville, Virginia. CBS19 reported that Jackson completed chest compressions on a friend who lost consciousness during a basketball game. He also provided a shock to his friend's heart, and doctors and friends told CBS19 that Jackson's actions likely helped save his friend's life.
Lastly, let's consider Tyler Royse, a high school student in Loveland, Colorado who learned CPR last year. WQAD-TV reported Royse's CPR skills recently were put to the test when one of his classmates suddenly stopped breathing. Royse began to perform chest compressions and rescue breathing on his fellow classmate immediately. By doing so, Royse was able to help revive his classmate.
Royse's takeaway from the incident? "The chances are very slim getting into this situation, but it happens," he noted. "Life is fragile."
So what can we learn from the previous examples? Each youngster provided life-saving support in a time of need. Plus, each youth may be considered one of the true "lucky" ones, as he or she proved to be in the right place at the right time and was able to provide crucial support to help save a life.
Moreover, the aforementioned examples highlight the true value of CPR training in classrooms nationwide. Because if students receive classroom CPR training, they'll know how to administer life-saving support to any person, at any location, at any time and can become instant life-savers.
Although we hope that students will never encounter a life-or-death situation, there's simply no telling when one might happen. And with CPR training in classrooms, we'll be able to guarantee that students everywhere will all be the "lucky" ones who understand what it takes to save a life.