How many times do you make a memory that you are sure your children will remember for the rest of their lives?  For me, that memory is of my mom and her husband dancing in the kitchen on St. Patrick’s Day. It was early in their marriage and I cherish that time. They were never that happy again.

I am hoping that my daughter and her hubby have created such a memory for their kids. They were in line waiting to go into what they refer to as a rodeo or a carnival. We went with them once. It was like several county fairs put together with a rodeo thrown in for good measure. 

They were about halfway through the long line to get in when they heard someone calling for a medic because their father was having a medical emergency. Beth’s husband, Duston, softly said, “Don’t do it. Don’t do it.” He is an Emergency Medical Technician, EMT for short.  My daughter is a registered nurse. She left Duston and the kids to wait in line while she went over to see if she could help. A guy was doing chest compressions on a man lying on the ground. The son frantically said, “He’s my dad. He’s my dad.”

Beth took over from him and assessed the man as best she could. She told the son to give his dad two forceful breaths when she told him to. He was apprehensive but he did it. She unbuttoned his father’s shirt. At some point another lady came to help. I am not sure if she was a nurse or not. Beth asked her to stop for a second so she could see if the patient’s heart could function on its own. It couldn’t.

Beth asked if there was a defibrillator around. There was a lot of confusion in the crowd but they finally found one. Beth told the lady helping to stand clear of the patient because she was about to shock him and the lady would also get zapped. She never did get clear enough as her leg was touching the patient. Beth finally zapped the man but it didn’t do any good. The other lady was lucky that she felt nothing.

Beth yelled for Duston. He and the kids came on over. She said it had been a long time since the two of them had worked on a patient together.

That is the memory I want those kids to have. I want them to remember their parents doing what they could for a stranger.

It was about a half an hour before the ambulance arrived to take the man and his son to the hospital. 

I congratulated her on saving a life. She informed me that she had saved two lives that day. It seems that a little girl in line had fallen and scraped her knee. The child wouldn’t stop crying until Beth asked the mom if a bandage would help. She offered bandages with a Spiderman design or a different cartoon character design. As soon as the bandage was applied, the child stopped crying.

The first man wasn’t expected to live but I am so proud of my daughter for doing what she could. In any crowd there is the expectation that somebody else will step in when needed. Plus there is the fear that if there is an adverse reaction that the patient or family will sue. Most people don’t want to get involved.

I am proud of my family for stepping up to help. I am glad that they did their best to try to save a stranger.