On the Sunday before fall semester classes began, first-year Humber Polytechnic nursing student, Eveline Mitchell, was returning to residence after a trip to Taco Bell with a friend.
As she turned onto Arboretum Boulevard, she noticed an odd scenario: two college students and an older lady frantically pacing over a man lying face down on the sidewalk.
Mitchell made the decision to turn her car around and jump into action, performing CPR on the unconscious man.
“When I noticed that there was somebody that was unconscious on the ground, mind you, half on the road, half on the sidewalk, and there was nobody bent over him checking anything to see if he was breathing … we pulled over and then I kind of just stepped in,” Mitchell said.
While waiting for emergency services to arrive, Mitchell performed over 100 consecutive compressions on the man. She continued to perform the life-saving action even after feeling the man’s ribs break beneath her hands.
“Something that we drill often is to never flinch if you feel ribs breaking … so, when I quite literally did feel ribs breaking under my hands, while I knew it was a life-saving maneuver I was doing, it felt so harmful and it immediately instilled a state of shock in me and that was something I had never experienced before,” said Mitchell.
When the paramedics arrived, the man’s pulse had returned, and Mitchell was credited with saving the man’s life after a suspected cardiac arrest.
For many students, CPR training is just another requirement for school or work.
Mitchell herself was one of those students, only learning CPR as a mandatory part of her lifeguard training seven years ago. She also learned advanced CPR during her time in Humber’s pre-health program last year.
Many programs at both Humber and the University of Guelph-Humber require CPR training as a prerequisite for placement, such as early childhood education, community social services and various health sciences courses.
Regardless of program, CPR is an extremely important skill to have, because cardiac arrest can happen to anyone at any time.
In cases of cardiac arrest, CPR is crucial as it circulates oxygenated blood between the brain and vital organs until the heart can be restarted.
Humber offers a CPR course that both Humber and Guelph-Humber students are eligible to enroll in, especially if their course requires CPR training as a placement requirement. Members of the general public are also welcome to register for the course.
The course, HLT 100, taught in collaboration with the Canadian Red Cross, teaches students First Aid and CPR Level C, which covers children and adults, through a blended format. Students must first complete an online theory portion of the course before attending an in-person practical session.
“Just take it because nearly everyone that you know knows someone who died of a heart attack or a stroke,” says Maria Cappadocia, one of Humber’s CPR and First Aid teachers, adding: “Most people that I spoke to in my course, they knew of somebody who had a stroke or who had a heart attack. So, if you know, you can pass that information on to other people.”
Despite other people at the scene, Mitchell was the only one who knew, or at least stepped up to perform CPR, taking a mental and physical toll on her.
“I knew that I wasn’t alone, but in my head kind of it felt like I was going through this experience alone. I alone had my hands on this person, and that was a very strange and jarring feeling for me,” said Mitchell.
Like most other people trained in CPR, Mitchell only ever practiced within a team scenario. When performing CPR on her own, she noticed how much of a different experience it is.
“I did notice the sense of teamwork that I feel in a team [where] everyone else is CPR certified and how much that can really help and motivate and boost the person who is doing compressions to keep going, because it doesn’t feel like they’re the only one doing the counting or the weight isn’t all on their shoulders,” said Mitchell.
Performing CPR can be physically demanding, especially in maintaining the right compression rate and depth.
Having multiple people contribute allows individuals to take a rest from compressions and regain strength, as being physically exhausted will only make CPR harder to perform.
While a great option for learning CPR, enrollment in Humber’s CPR course is quite limited due to only having four professors, dropping from 12 pre-pandemic.
As an alternative, individuals can enroll in CPR courses through a variety of different companies such as Red Cross, TorontoCPR and more.
Courses range from $90 for CPR only, to $150 for CPR-C and First Aid. However, some courses offer discounted pricing for students.
Even for those trained in CPR, they may hesitate when encountering emergency situations due to fear of legal repercussions if they make a mistake or injure the person while providing help.
Ontario’s Good Samaritan Act protects people who provide emergency medical assistance from legal liability, such as lawsuits, if they act in good faith and avoid gross negligence. Individuals do not have to be CPR certified in order to be protected, so long as they follow the guidelines mentioned.
“Know you are protected by the Good Samaritan Act. If you follow exactly what the instructor says, you’re protected, so you can’t even do anything wrong,” says Cappadocia. “You just call 911, they’ll walk you through it: ‘Ma’am, can you please take your two hands? Can you place it in the middle of the chest? Good. Are your arms straight? Good. Can you press down? Do you feel anything?’ Take a deep breath. They’ll walk you through it.”
Even with the protection of the Good Samaritan Act, the fear of making a mistake or the sheer pressure of the moment can still make stepping up feel overwhelming.
Cappadocia offers comforting words for those anxious about taking action: “Just take a couple of breaths in and out. Positive words. You know what to do. And then go up. If you have to, call 911 and they’ll walk you through it and they will tell you the same thing: ‘take a deep breath in. We’re going to do it together.’”
At the end of the day, Cappadocia has one key message: “It is so easy to do. If you’re willing to put the time in, think about the life that you’re going to save.”
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How to perform CPR:
1. Check the scene for safety hazards and make sure it is safe to provide care. (Tip: Use this common rhyme to remember potential hazards: “No fire, no wire, no glass, no gas.”)
2. Check for responsiveness: shout, and if no response, tap the person’s shoulder. If no response again, shout again.
3. Check for breathing: watch the chest to see if it rises and falls consistent with breathing.
4. Kneel beside the person, with them on their back on a hard surface.
5. Place your two hands centered on the chest with shoulders over hands and elbows locked.
6. Complete 100-120 compressions per minute. (Tip: Follow the beat of ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees to stay on track.)
7. If you have a CPR mask, provide two breaths every 30 seconds. If you don’t, continue solely with compressions.
8. If possible, have someone get an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) as fast as possible.