Student learns lifesaving skills and saves his friend the same day

An evening in November, Raphaël and Jean-Philippe met after school at restaurant Mike’s for a get-together with friends. “We started talking about the CPR training we had that day in our phys ed class,” recalls Raphaël.

They were going over the different scenarios together, when suddenly, Jean-Philippe started choking. “J-P can be a bit of a joker, so at first we all thought he was pulling a prank on us,” says Raphaël.

“I wasn’t able to breathe and I felt a pressure in my chest. The people around didn’t realize what was happening.” remembers Jean-Philippe. “I was afraid of what could happen if no one did anything,” he adds.

At that moment, Raphaël jumped in to help his friend. “I noticed that the colour of Jean-Philippe’s skin was changing. I’ve never seen someone so blue in my life,” he says.

Raphaël stood behind his friend and did what he and his friends were talking about just moments before. “I went behind him and I placed my hands right above his navel. I gave him a few strong abdominal thrusts, hoping that what we learned in class really worked,” he recalls.
“Had I not taken my CPR class, I wouldn’t have known what to do,” stresses Raphaël.

“While taking the course, I knew it was important, but I never thought I would be the one needing help,” says Jean-Philippe.

The ACT CPR High School program was implemented in la Polyvalente de La Forêt d’Amos in Quebec in 2015 thanks to the support of the Government of Quebec and health partners, AstraZeneca Canada, Sanofi Canada, Amgen Canada.

The Advanced Coronary Treatment (ACT) Foundation is an award-winning, national charitable organization dedicated to establishing CPR and AED training programs 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 3.2 million youth have been trained in CPR by their teachers through this lifesaving program to date.