Baylor Libraries staff member saves wife with CPR learned at BU
Baylor’s Moody and Jones libraries are among the university’s busiest buildings, with more than 3,500 students, faculty, staff and other visitors inside on any given day. That’s a lot of traffic, so Baylor Libraries sought out CPR training for staff in case there might one day be a need for such immediate life-saving measures.
Dozens of staff members took a basic CPR course, while 25 more — including John Lowe, associate director of learning systems — got fully certified through the American Heart Association’s Basic Life Support CPR class, hosted by American Medical Response (AMR).
What John didn’t know was that he would employ those newly learned skills only a few months later — to help save his wife, Angie (BSED ’00).
In November, John awoke to Angie experiencing cardiac arrest at their home. He jumped into action.
“When Angie went into cardiac arrest, I called 911 and then immediately brought her to the floor and started compressions as we were taught in that class,” John says, adding that the 911 dispatcher stayed on the phone for the next six minutes, counting him through the chest compressions. “It’s super important to know CPR because every minute matters. First responders were in our house in about six minutes, but in that six minutes a lot could have gone wrong. With immediate CPR, Angie is doing great.”
When individuals receive bystander CPR within two minutes of suffering cardiac arrest, they have an 81% higher chance of survival. “When seconds count, it is invaluable to know the basics of CPR,” says Heather Schmidt, operations manager for AMR Waco.
Less than a month after that frightening night, John and Angie Lowe reunited with the first responders from the Waco Fire Department and AMR, whose quick collective actions saved Angie’s life. The Lowes encourage everyone to take a basic CPR class, because you never know when you will be called upon to save someone’s life.
“It’s not difficult to do,” says John. “The classes tell you what to do and how to do it right and give you the practice and experience to be able to do it whenever you need to. I’m just very grateful that we had that opportunity at Baylor to take those classes.”
“It’s incredible, and I feel incredible,” says Angie. “I wake up every morning, and I’m just so grateful for a second chance at life, and impressed that they all knew exactly what to do.”
Sic ’em, John, Baylor Libraries, and all CPR-trained Bears!
[Baylor students, faculty and staff interested in arranging training on CPR, AED, Stop the Bleed or other safety and security trainings can contact the Baylor Office of Emergency Management for information.]