CPR or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is an emergency procedure that employs chest compressions in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function. Performing CPR keeps the heart pumping and oxygen moving to the brain. There are people that perform CPR on others every day in situations where someone is drowning, passed out, or suffering from a heart attack. People who perform CPR in these situations are lifesavers, and we have our very own in the city of Madison.

Celie Krome, a junior at Bob Jones High School, had just returned from school on Friday, April 7th. She was getting everything settled in until she heard her mom screaming from downstairs. Her dad was suffering from a heart attack. Celie performed CPR on her father for seven minutes.

Krome says, “I just did it because I had to, it’s what I had been trained to do and he is my dad. My mom didn’t know it and [we] were the only ones home. It was my job.”

Students at Bob Jones take a CPR course as part of Health class course requirements. Local paramedics are brought to the school to teach but are also available through various community institutions. The community taught courses cover three different categories. First is First Aid, bandaging, burn care, and the proper way to move a victim. Second is learning the Heimlich maneuver. Students learn the different ways to perform it on infants, children, and adults. The third is chest compressions and breaths. Students are taught the right combination and technique for breathing–thirty compressions to two breaths at a rate of 110 beats a minute–with the help of dummies.

Celie was told by the nurses that the immediate CPR she performed on her dad is what saved his life.

She said, “Becoming CPR certified is very important, and you never think that you will have to use it. A lot of people might think they would freak out, or not remember, but it is most likely that the 911 operator will walk you through step by step. Most likely, if you have to use it you will use it on a family member because you are around them more than anyone, and it’s reassuring to know you could save a family member.”

Celie Krome received the Lifesaving Award from the Madison Fire and Rescue Department, presented by Head Chief Williams on April 24th. She said, “I felt honored more than I wished to have because I didn’t think what I did was that great. In my brain, I know that I saved him, but I just did what I was supposed to.”