Florida teen saves 6-month-old baby after learning CPR in school
'We're so proud of him and the life-saving service he rendered.'
A Florida teenager has gone viral after he used the CPR skills learned at school to save an unresponsive 6-month-old baby at his job.
Crestview High School student Savion Harris was working his shift at a local Thai restaurant on Saturday when the mother of the family-owned business began yelling for help after her baby boy stopped breathing and turned blue, PEOPLE reports. As one of the employees called 911, Harris began chest compressions on the infant.
Read More: Florida teen saves best friend’s life one day after completing CPR training
“While I was talking to the responder on the other end of the phone, I got the baby from the dad and put him on the table. The baby was turning blue and I decided to do CPR,” Harris recalled to the Northwest Florida Daily News. “I did two good compressions and the baby started crying, so I knew he was getting oxygen to his lungs. The color started returning to his face and at that point, the ambulance arrived.”
Harris, an 11th grader at Crestview, received his CPR certification as part of the school’s Career and Technical Education (CTE) Program. While it only took a few moments to revive the baby, he called the incident “extremely intense.”
“It was a very short, but like, intense couple of minutes. Just two or three minutes at the most, but it was extremely intense,” Harris told ABC affiliate WEAR.
CTE Allied Health teacher, Dr. Tammy McKenzie, reacted to Harris’ quick-thinking actions, telling WEAR, “I’m very proud to see one of my students be able to jump into action.”
“We practice a lot,” McKenzie continued. “The students in this class understand the significance of learning those life-saving skills.”
Crestview High School also praised the teenager in a post on Instagram.
“This weekend, Savion Harris used skills he learned in Dr. McKenzie’s class to help a six-month-old baby who was blue and not breathing!” the school captioned a photo of Harris with Principal Dexter Day.
“In a moment of critical need, he put into action his Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers training,” the statement continues. “His quick thinking had him performing chest compressions with EMS on the line and the baby began crying.”
“We’re so proud of him and the life-saving service he rendered!” the school added. “This is just one of the reasons why having CTE in our schools matters!!”
A similar life-saving incident occurred in February when a Florida teenager who just learned CPR was able to utilize her new skills a day later and save the life of her best friend, theGRIO reported.
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Torri’ell Norwood and A’zarria Simmons, both 16, have been friends since the seventh grade but their bond deepened when were involved in a car accident on Feb. 20 when another driver slammed into Norwood’s vehicle. Simmons was left unconscious, not breathing, and without a pulse, CNN reported. Norwood pulled Simmons from the wreckage while avoiding shattered glass.
“A lot of people started to gather around to see what was happening. I started yelling, ‘Back up, back up, she needs space,” Norwood explained.
Norwood then put into use the CPR skills she’d just learned by performing 30 compressions and two rescue breaths. With her friend’s efforts, Simmons was able to regain consciousness before the paramedics arrived who then transported her to the hospital. She received stitches on her forehead for a gash.
“I don’t remember the hit or anything about accident. But when I woke up, I was in the hospital. I was in shock. I was trying to figure out how I got there,” Simmons said.
Simmons said Norwood’s quick thinking is a hallmark of their friendship.
“I wasn’t shocked by her doing it because she always does stuff for me,” Simmons told Inside Edition. “She always has my back. It’s deeper than a friendship, it’s been deeper than that before this accident and all this happened. It’s just made me realize [that] if she wasn’t there, I wouldn’t be here today.”
theGRIO’s Stephanie Guerilus contributed to this report.
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