Online ACLS certification in Virginia

Medical stories

• Teen cpr hero saves grandmother's life after heart attack

  Jun 6, 2023 --On May 15, 14-year-old Andy Campos found himself thrust into a life-and-death situation when his grandmother, Angela Campos, collapsed, suffering a heart attack. Thanks to a recent CPR class he had taken at Marshall High School, Andy sprang into action. He promptly dialed 911, providing vital assistance until first responders arrived. Angela was rushed to INOVA Fairfax Hospital and spent a week receiving treatment before returning home to her family, all thanks to Andy's quick thinking.Natalie Campos, Andy's older sister and a nursing student, hailed him as a hero, emphasizing that his immediate response played a pivotal role in saving their grandmother's life.Andy, a rising sophomore, plans to spend his summer with family while contemplating a career as a paramedic or doctor. Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Michelle Reid praised Andy's actions and highlighted the importance of CPR training in schools, emphasizing its life-saving potential.The American Heart Association notes that prompt CPR can significantly increase the chances of survival for cardiac arrest patients.

  Read More…

• Virginia lawyer saved by CPR shares story to raise awareness

  May 26, 2021 --John Harrity, a healthy 49-year-old lawyer who followed a strict diet and had no family history of heart disease had a sudden heart attack. Luckily, his friend was there with the knowledge of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), performed the procedure after Mr. Harrity hitting the ground - and that saved his life.

  Read More…

• Scouting help save man's life

  Apr 22, 2021 --The 19-year-old University of Virginia and Eagle Scout, Spencer Buddington, administered chest compression to the store owner’s friend, James Ward, who had suffered a heart attack and was unconscious. Instead of panicking during the compressions as one of the man’s ribs cracked, he continued administering CRP until EMTs arrived. His scout training prepared him for something like that to happen. After more than a week in the hospital, Ward recovered and called to thank Buddington for his quick thinking and actions.

  Read More…

• The nurse saved a bystander at Veterans Day ceremony

  Oct 13, 2020 --Milley a practicing nurse was at the Veterans Day ceremony when she saw an unresponsive man laying on the floor. She ran to help and noticed that he was breathing abnormally, and then stopped breathing. She directed someone to call 911 and started the provision of chest compressions. After two cycles of CPR, he took a deep breath and started moving. He regained his pulse and started to respond to her questions. Later he was taken to the hospital.

  Read More…

• Thank you wife

  Nov 19, 2019 --In May 2019. Joseph Branham  and Rebecca Branham bought a house together and 10 days after he retired from the city of Portsmouth after 35 years they got married on May 25,  and because Joseph does not want to be empty in retirement, he began working for FedEx, and part of his job is to lift heavy boxes.  and every time he went home he thought that he was just exhausted from work. Like other newlyweds couple, the night of Joseph's heart attack, the couple just have dinner, after at around 8 pm they went to bed to watch TV before falling asleep. Rebecca has training on CPR she had with her employer,  and that night Rebecca's instincts kicked in and began doing CPR on her husband after going to her phone to call 911,  after 10-15 minutes police and other first responders arrived and continue what Rebecca's started.  His first memory after his heart attack was when paramedics were transporting him to the ambulance as they took him to Bon Secours Maryview Medical Center in Portsmouth.   Dr. Bhavdeep Gupta performed surgery to clear up his 100-percent blocked artery and talking to Joseph while going to the operating room, making him feel comfortable and said his wife’s actions doing the CPR right away is a big help to avoid critical in brain damage.The surgery was performed in less than 90 minutes,  Joseph was allowed to go home wearing a LifeVest, a personal defibrillator for people at risk of sudden cardiac arrest after four days. And the doctor said that  Joseph has a good and quick recovery of cardiac arrest.

  Read More…

• Off-duty officer saved man's life

  Feb 18, 2019 --A deputy sheriff who was spending his day-off with his 13-year old son at the shooting range did not know he was about to save a man who was having a heart attack. Deputy Sheriff Noel McManaway was target-practicing with his son when he heard someone calling his name for help. The man said that John Campbell, her mother's partner, needed help badly. McManaway immediately started performing CPR then requested his son to get his cellphone so he could call 911. First responders arrived and took care of the victim and later brought him to the University of Virginia Medical Center where it was found he had a blocked artery.

  Read More…

• A call from a Good Samaritan helped woman in distress

  Nov 15, 2018 --A call to the Virginia State Police Communication Center about a woman found hunched on the steering wheel prompted trooper J. Brooks to immediately respond to the call. When he arrived on the scene, he found that the doors were locked, the woman's foot was still on the brake but the car was on drive mode. Trooper Brooks parked the car properly and broke the driver's side window to gain access. With the help of a Department of Transportation employee who was on the scene at that time, they removed Karen Lynn Wright from the vehicle and started giving CPR. Three other Good Samaritans alternately helped in giving CPR until local medics and firefighters arrived on the scene. Wright was later brought to the hospital where she was later pronounced dead despite vigorous efforts to save her life.

  Read More…

• Revolutionary CPR devices brings a new way to save lives

  Aug 22, 2017 --Henry County is now better prepared to deal with emergencies. The team of county supervisors approved money to acquire a new batch of mechanical CPR devices to substitute the old one they had which the team affectionally called "the thumper". The new type of device provides 2 types of chest compressions, something humans. The devices also helps the CPR as they do not need to waste energy doing compressions and focus on other activities.

  Read More…

• Cop saves an infant's life

  Oct 17, 2016 --Alexa Rosales is the little angel who was found fighting between life and death by officer David Cole . He jumped to the rescue by administering CPR on the small child. She immediately became responsive once her airway was cleared. The parents of Alexa quickly took her to a nearby hospital where she successfully recovered.

  Read More…

• A trio of life-savers

  Sep 16, 2016 --Rick Reynolds, Kris Savage and Katie Simpsons were the team of three heroic life-savers of the day. There was a heavy rain storm at the city of Herdon, Virginia and they happen to find a man who was face down and unresponsive. They immediately called 911 and began doing CPR until the paramedics arrived on the scene to help them. The three heroic individuals were honored by the city hall and Agostino Tarantino, the man who survived, was present at the ceremony was well.

  Read More…

• Teen saves baseball team mate performing CPR

  Aug 2, 2016 --A boy named Steve Smith suffered a cardiac arrest caused by a situation called commotio cordis, which is a state of sometimes lethal heart agitation caused by a very hard blow above the heart, his father and team coach Tim Smith, started asking for someone who knew CPR, that's when fellow team mate, Paul Dow, jumped to the action. Thanks to the knowledge acquired from his lifeguard training, he managed to perform a successful CPR technique on the young baseball player, “I jump in, did CPR, like, I felt like I was having a spiritual conversation with him as he is sitting there slowly dying,” said the young hero, while performing the technique on his friend, helping him regain consciousness with enough time for the paramedics to take him to the nearest hospital, there he remained 3 days in a medically induced comma, with no recollections of the near death event after waking up, Smith now calls Dow his brother since he was the first one to be next to him in the medical center.

  Read More…

• Power company employee saves life

  Jun 24, 2016 --Nick Reckmeyer knows CPR due to his dangerous line of work. He works on the power lines for NOVEC. However, Reckmeyer didn't need CPR on the job, but rather when he was out with his family. He encountered a man on the street in Springfield and went to his rescue, performing CPR to save his life. Police report the man had suffered a drug overdose. The man did begin breathing again and emergency responders arrived. Reckmeyer's story is particularly inspiring because his life was saved by CPR as a toddler when he nearly drowned.

  Read More…

• Basketball game turned sour

  Jun 3, 2016 --A group of High School teenagers reunited for a typical basketball game, Trevon Jackson, AJ Stouffer and Jerry Harris attended the Key Center Downtown court when they suddenly noticed Harris gasping for air, losing consciousness and dropping to the ground. The boys started doing CPR (do you need your own [BLS renewal](https://aclsrenewal.org)?), a technique they learned on their class, on their friend waiting for the EMS to arrive, the paramedics used a defibrillator to shock Harris that made his heart beat regularly again. Jerry recovered at the hospital and is now back with his family thanks to the quick actions of his 2 friends.

  Read More…

• Sisters save their father's life with CPR

  Apr 29, 2016 --On November 20, Melissa and Mackenzie Zimmerman were at home when they heard a loud noise. Their father had fallen down due to heart failure. The sisters called their mother who is a nurse. Then, they called 911 and started CPR with the help of the dispatcher. They had learned CPR at school and remembered what to do with the help of the dispatcher. Soon, medical teams arrived and took Mr. Zimmerman to the hospital. He is now recovering at home.

  Read More…

• Truck driver saves life with CPR on I-95

  Apr 28, 2016 --Stopped in traffic, Joseph Wiggins of Florida was driving north on I-95 in Florida. He observed the passenger of a nearby truck collapse and the driver tried to get him to respond. He knew something was wrong and quickly moved to help. Prior to becoming a truck driver, Wiggins had worked in law enforcement and so is trained in first response. He gave the man CPR and was then assisted by a nurse who also observed the incident until paramedics arrived. Wiggins was recognized for his actions by being honored with the "Highway Angel" award.

  Read More…

• Officer saves woman outside hospital

  Mar 14, 2016 --Virginia Commonwealth University police officer Ellsworth "Sonny" Pryor was on duty happened to be in the right place at the right time when a call came in for a cardiac arrest. Pryor was parked just outside the hospital where the event occurred, just inside. He ran inside to assist the woman before other personnel arrived on scene. Pryor, who is also EMT certified, performed CPR and made use of an AED machine to save the woman's life.

  Read More…

• Sanitation worker helps ailing woman

  Jun 15, 2015 --Gul Nabi spent his Friday filling in for a garbage truck route in lieu of his usual job in street maintenance. His truck passed by a woman that apparently was in distress. Nabi went immediately to the woman’s aid. She was choking on a pill and was losing a lot of oxygen. Nabi performed CPR on the woman and was able to extract the lodged pill. He sought assistance from someone nearby, and left without any need of praise or reward. That didn’t stop the woman from thanking Nabi through his bosses. His act of random kindness certainly saved her life.

  Read More…

• Trail running man saved by CPR angel

  Mar 15, 2015 --A Roanoke man was doing his daily trail running when he suddenly experienced a heart attack. He was alone, but thankfully, there were people who came to his aid. One was checking his pulse while another was calling the emergency hotline for assistance. A woman with CPR training happened to walk by and she immediately sprang to help the ailing man. She applied chest compressions until the EMTs arrived. The man was taken to the hospital for immediate care and medical intervention. His partner said that he is recovering well. They want to thank that mystery woman, that angel, who worked so hard to preserve his life.

  Read More…

• Virginia 911 dispatcher: Rules don’t apply when saving someone’s life

  Feb 5, 2015 --A 911 dispatcher based in one of Virginia’s police departments received a frantic call from a mother who just witnessed her 17-month old son experience seizures and stop breathing. The dispatcher knew how to perform CPR and he could easily just walk the mother and the grandmother, who was also present at the time of the incident, through the process of resuscitation. But that particular police department didn’t have an emergency medical dispatch certification, which meant that dispatchers were prohibited from giving CPR directions over the phone. The dispatcher, valuing life over rules and his job, calmly instructed the mother and grandmother to do CPR on the infant. Moments later, the child was revived and on his way to the medical center for intensive care.

  Read More…

• Cyclist calls a respiratory therapist his hero

  Feb 12, 2014 --Trevor Ballif thought he was just experiencing a normal workday when he witnessed a motorcycle crash on his way towards the hospital. The cyclist was unconscious and lying in the middle of the road, turning blue. Ballif leapt into action and conducted CPR for about 5 minutes. Before the EMS arrived, he experienced a miracle. The respiratory therapist observed the cyclist turn from blue to pink, until his conditions were stable. The ambulance rushed the victim to the hospital where proper care was administered. The survival of the cyclist was due to the efforts of Trevor Ballif and his knowledge of CPR.

  Read More…