Edmonton student saves best friend’s life

Having just completed the CPR course in her physical education class, Katelynn sprung into action, performing the Heimlich Manoeuvre. It didn’t work at first, Katelynn says, so she tried a different position and all of a sudden a green JubeJube shot straight out of Erikka’s mouth and landed on the floor in front of them.

“Since this happened, I just give her (Katelynn) lots and lots of hugs and thank her constantly for saving my life and I tell her I would save her life, too, if she were to ever need me! I tell everyone that taking a first aid course is essential because it teaches us how to save lives. It really does work!” Erikka says.

Katelynn adds, “It makes me feel much more confident and smarter knowing I can save a life. I know that I can actually put my training to use in an emergency, whether it’s to save the life of a family member, a friend or someone out in the community.”

Bubbling over with enthusiasm, Erikka says, “There are so many areas in my life where I can use my first aid training. For example, I’m an athlete and I play lots of different sports. Things can happen on the field or at an athletic event, where my training could make a big difference and all of us babysit, which means you never know when you will be called upon in the case of an emergency. I am really glad I’ve had this training because I can use it again and again!”

The ACT High School CPR Program was made possible in Katelynn’s school thanks to generous community and provincial-level support which enabled the donation of mannequins, teacher training and curriculum resources. The community partner is the Kiwanis Club of Edmonton, while provincial partners of the program are Alberta Education and the STARS Foundation (a founding provincial partner in this province).

The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is an award-winning, national charitable organization dedicated to establishing CPR in high schools across Canada. ACT raises funds to donate mannequins, teacher training, manuals and other materials to schools, and guides schools in program set-up and long-term sustainability. Teachers teach CPR to their students as a regular part of the curriculum. Over 900,000 youth have been trained in CPR through this lifesaving program to date.

Core partners supporting the program in Alberta and throughout Canada are companies in the research-based pharmaceutical industry: AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb Canada, Pfizer Canada and sanofi-aventis. They provide ACT’s sustaining funding and are committed to the Foundation’s national goal of promoting health and empowering Canadians to save lives.