The school staff and principal of Calgary Balmoral School were honored for saving the life of their grade six student.
Before the start of the school year, all staff of the Calgary Balmoral School had first aid training, learning the techniques of cardiopulmonary resuscitations and how to use the defibrillator which is already present in the school.
Immediate care
Maryam, the 11-year old student of the school had collapsed on the school field.
Before the incident, Maryam recalled that she was sitting in the classroom and not feeling well and went to the office and later on fainted. Her friends later on told her, that her eyes rolled over and her body was turning blue like the color of the sky.
Maryam had a cardiac arrest. One of the teachers from the school got the defibrillator which is found in front of the entrance of the school. The principal of the school went out to get some help. They shocked the girl with the defibrillator and she was revived. The parents of Maryam were grateful for the school staff that is trained in first aid and CPR and with self confidence in responding to emergencies. They are amazing and they saved the life of our daughter.
The family of Maryam is from Pakistan and moved to Calgary five years ago. The mother of Maryam said that they are blessed because they are here and maybe because of what happened.
The teaching staff and principal of the school were honored and given an EMS Citizen Recognition award and reunited with Emmerson, a paramedic. He continued caring for Maryam.
According to Emmerson, if the school staff does not have any training on CPR and panicked, the girl would not have a very good outcome, the condition might become severe.
Maryam was taken to the hospital for further treatment. She smiled and gave Emmerson a hug and he had to swallow several time just to prevent his tears from falling. Maryam has fully recovered in the hospital and returned to school in a few weeks. She is happy that she is still alive and very thankful for the people who helped her, because out of 5,000 people who had cardiac arrest, she is one of the people who survived.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a first aid and CPR class and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease/qa/what-is-cardiopulmonary-resuscitationcpr