Two high school students are being hailed as heroes after saving the life of their history teacher.
Adam Compton, 46, was at a skating club with his students at MacArthur High School in San Antonio when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest on November 7.
Students in the club remembered seeing him mess up a trick and sat down. Within seconds, Compton began hyperventilating and eventually passed out.
“I was skating very slowly that day, trying to save energy, be able to do a little more tomorrow, and what I remember is sitting for a while,” Compton said. KEN5.
One student immediately rushed to call 911, while others went to grab MacArthur Athletic trainer Amanda Boyd, who quickly began giving the teacher compressions.
“So I turned him over and looked for a heartbeat, but I couldn’t find one. From that moment on, I knew he needed CPR, so I started compressions,” the trainer said.
Fellow students Aidan Anthony-Gonzalez and Steven Amaro instinctively ran to the automated external defibrillator (AED) where it was stored and prepared to use it on Compton.
“I had two main thoughts going through my head: ‘Oh my God, this can’t be happening,’ and then thinking that I have to do something,” Gonzalez said.
Adam Compton, 46, was in a skating club with his students at MacArthur High School in San Antonio when he suddenly went into cardiac arrest on November 7.
Fellow students Aidan Anthony-Gonzalez (left) and Steven Amaro (right) instead ran to retrieve the automated external defibrillator (AED) from where it was stored and began preparing it for use on Compton
Amaro, a high school student who had recently completed his ADR-CPR certification, began helping Boyd place sanitary pads on his teacher and deliver a shock.
“Apparently that shock brought him back to life,” Boyd said KEN5 .
The teenager said it too KSAT12: ‘I never thought I would have to do it personally, because you don’t expect it. And it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing that shouldn’t happen to anyone.”
Within minutes, paramedics arrived on the scene and Compton was rushed to hospital.
Doctors later discovered that the teacher suffered from a genetic heart condition that caused him to suffer sudden cardiac arrest.
“We always thought it was a heart murmur since I was a kid,” Compton revealed.
He was subsequently fitted with a pacemaker in hospital and after a few weeks of recovery he returned to school.
Although Compton can’t skate for a while, he is back with the skating club – which he has long sponsored.
Amaro, a high school student who had recently completed his ADR-CPR certification, quickly began helping Boyd place sanitary pads on his teacher and deliver a shock.
“I had two main thoughts going through my head: ‘Oh my God, this can’t be happening,’ and then that I have to do something,” Gonzalez said later.
Doctors later discovered that the teacher suffered from a genetic heart condition that caused him to go into sudden cardiac arrest
He was subsequently fitted with a pacemaker in hospital and after a few weeks of recovery he returned to school
Students said they were relieved to see him in his history class after his miraculous recovery.
“As much as he is our teacher, he is also one of our best friends,” Gonzalez said.
In a separate video statement, Compton also thanked the community, saying, “I’m just insanely grateful. I’m 46 years old and I have teenage children and a wife, so it was a very sobering thought.
‘I just thought about: what if you hadn’t been there? Thanks, guys. Give yourself a pat on the back and all that. You can be very proud of yourself.
‘I’m really happy I was here and happy that I’m still here. I’m looking forward to skating more. I’m now going to live under 140 beats per minute. But I can only do it because you jumped up and did it. So, thanks guys’.