A Quebec-area teen saves a man’s life
It was a beautiful, sunny day when Normand decided to go for a ride on his motorcycle. He stopped at a gas station to pick up something to drink. Walking back, Normand was just about to take a sip of his chocolate milk when suddenly, he collapsed.
A gas station attendant ran inside and called for someone to dial 911. “My coworker told me that he didn’t know what to do, he didn’t know CPR,” says Jenysse, a high school student who works part time at the gas station. Having learnt CPR at school two years earlier, the 16-year-old dashed outside to help.
As residents of the small town gathered round, Jenysse started CPR. “All I could think about was keeping him alive,” she recalls, “and it’s because of my ACT training that I was able to do it.”
Jenysse learnt CPR in her Grade 9 physical education class as part of a “Citizens of the World” program at École secondaire de l’Aubier.
Mr. Lynch, Jenysse’s Grade 9 physical education teacher says that he’s very proud of her. “She said that it all just came back to her, the compressions and everything,” he explains. “The skills were stored in her mind and she was able to put them in action when she needed to.”
Normand and his wife Guylaine call the young girl an angel who was an instrument of life. “This course made all the difference,” stresses Guylaine, “without Jenysse, it’s certain Normand would not be here today.”
The ACT High School CPR Program was made possible in Jenysse’s school thanks to support from the Quebec Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Quebec Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports.
The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is an award-winning, national charitable organization dedicated to establishing CPR and AED training in high schools across Canada. ACT raises funds to donate mannequins and teacher training to schools, and guides schools in program set-up and long-term sustainability. Over 1.8 million youth have been trained in CPR by their teachers through this lifesaving program to date.
ACT’s national health partners supporting the program in Quebec and throughout Canada are: AstraZeneca Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Sanofi. They provide ACT’s sustaining funding and are committed to the Foundation’s national goal of promoting health and empowering Canadians to save lives.