“I Saved A Life”

    Last Thanksgiving, I planned to eat, relax with my family, and catch up on sleep. 

    My relatives came over early. After breakfast, I went to my room for a nap.

    I woke up when I heard screaming. I was sleepy and confused. What was going on? I wasn’t sure. Then someone yelled, “Call 911!” 

    I jumped up and ran outside. What I saw was a shock. 

    My stepdad was hunched over on the ground next to the pool. I thought he was hurt. Then I saw that he was holding my 3-year-old cousin, Maxine. She had fallen in the water. She was soaking wet and totally still. 

    My aunt was on the phone with 911. My stepdad laid Maxine down on the ground. I knew what to do. “I know CPR,” I shouted. 

    Last Thanksgiving, I was looking forward to eating a big meal, relaxing with my family, and catching up on sleep. 

    My relatives came over early. After breakfast, I went to my room to take a nap.

    Next thing I knew, I was woken up by people screaming. I was sleepy and confused, and I wasn’t sure what was happening. Then someone yelled, “Call 911!” 

    When I heard that, I jumped out of bed and ran out of my room. Nothing could have prepared me for what I found outside. 

    My stepdad was hunched over on the ground next to the pool, and I thought at first that he was the one who was hurt—but then I saw that he was holding my 3-year-old cousin, Maxine. Maxine had fallen in the water, and she was soaking wet and totally still. 

    My aunt was on the phone with 911, and my stepdad laid Maxine down on the ground. I knew what I had to do. “I know CPR,” I shouted.  

    Before that day, I never thought I would be in a life-or-death situation. I’m a lot like other teens. I’m on the cheer team. I love to cook and bake. I’m trying to perfect these French cookies called macarons. My little brother loves when I make him pasta. I like to do puzzles, play with my dog, and hang out with my friends. 

    My favorite class in school is sports medicine. Since I do cheer, I thought it would be cool to learn some useful skills. In class, we learn how to tape up injuries. We learn the basics of first aid. And we learn how to do CPR.

    CPR is an emergency procedure used when someone’s heart or breathing has stopped. 

    We practiced CPR on a dummy. I was glad to learn such an important skill. But I didn’t expect to use it in real life.

    Before that day, I never imagined that I would find myself in a life-or-death situation. I’m a fairly typical teenager. I’m on the cheer team. I love to cook and bake. I’m trying to perfect these fancy French cookies called macarons. My little brother loves when I make him pasta. I enjoy doing puzzles, playing with my dog Sammy, and hanging out with my friends. 

    My favorite class in school is sports medicine. Since I do cheer, I thought it would be cool to learn some useful skills. In class, we’re taught the basics of first aid, how to tape up different kinds of injuries, and how to perform CPR.

    CPR is an emergency procedure used when someone’s heart or breathing has stopped. 

    We practiced CPR on a dummy. I was excited to learn such a valuable skill, but I never truly expected to use it in real life.

    Maxine wasn’t breathing, so I began to do CPR. I put one of my hands on top of the other on her chest, finding the right spot. I started pushing down to the rhythm I had learned. I sang “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees in my head to keep the rhythm, like my teacher had taught me. 

    I’m not sure how long I performed CPR, but my mom says it was a few minutes. To stay calm, I pretended I was in class practicing on a dummy.

    Suddenly, Maxine spit up water and coughed. I turned her onto her side so she could get all the water out of her lungs. We heard sirens, and soon a fire truck and ambulance arrived. 

    The EMTs [emergency medical technicians] checked Maxine out. Then they took her to the hospital for observation to make sure she was OK. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Once the adrenaline wore off, I crashed. I went back to my room and finished my nap.

    When I saw that Maxine wasn’t breathing, I began performing CPR. I placed one of my hands on top of the other on her chest, finding the exact right spot, and then I started pushing down to the rhythm I had learned. I sang “Stayin’ Alive” by the Bee Gees in my head to keep the rhythm, just like my sports medicine teacher had taught me. 

    I can’t recall exactly how long I performed CPR, but my mom tells me it was a few minutes. I knew I needed to stay calm, so I pretended I was back in class practicing on a dummy.

    Suddenly, Maxine spit up water and coughed. I turned her onto her side so she could get all the water out of her lungs. We heard sirens, and soon a fire truck and ambulance arrived. 

    The EMTs [emergency medical technicians] checked Maxine out and took her to the hospital for observation to make sure she was OK. I couldn’t believe what had just happened. Once the adrenaline wore off, I crashed. I went back to my room and finished my nap.