Bryn Mawr high school students teach community to do CPR
"Teach people how to do CPR, and kids like us can do it on anyone," said one student.
BRYN MAWR, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Students are putting their minds and their hearts together to raise awareness of sudden cardiac arrest.
It's something experts say takes the lives of thousands of students every year.
"I want them to leave with being aware this could happen to anyone and how to do CPR because it's really important and really easy," explained Sam Wizov, a junior at Harriton High School in Bryn Mawr.
Students at Harriton High School, the community, and families came together for a CPR jukebox marathon. There, they worked together to do 200,000 compressions in four hours.
"Teach people how to do CPR, and kids like us can do it on anyone," said Wizov.
Wizov isn't the average high school junior. He's also a survivor.
"I got involved because when I had my accident, when I was 9 years old, I suffered from a near-drowning cardiac arrest," explained Wizov. "I was under the water for 10 minutes before someone grabbed me. My uncle, who saved my life, did CPR for 26 minutes while the AED and ambulance came. I woke up and it changed my life."
His mission is to make sure no one else has to go through what he did.
"Saving lives is hard, but learning how can be fun, and that's what we want people to know. We're making it easier for a young person or an adult to not be afraid if someone was to go down," said Jenn Parrado, Executive Director of Simon's Heart.
While they aren't certifying people, they're giving them the confidence to step in if necessary.
"We saw Damar Hamlin go down in January. We saw that happen on live television, he had an elite team around him who knew exactly what to do, how to do it, and where to do it. Within 15 seconds, he had that AED on his body and that's why he survived the way he did," said Parrado.
What happened to Damar Hamlin has helped their organization reach more people and spread even more awareness of sudden cardiac arrest.
It also helped inspire Saturday's event, with the goal of educating the community.
Parrado says Simon's Heart is committed to a future in which parents and communities do not lose children through sudden cardiac arrest.
