EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — An Eastwood Middle School teacher is being credited for his quick thinking and for saving the life of one of his students by performing CPR.
Eduardo Quintanilla has been teaching for 17 years and as a coach, every year he must either take or renew his CPR training.
Recently he was able to use that training to save a young boy’s life.
“I was extremely frightened, scared. However, the biggest thing that came to my mind, one, was just gratitude, the instant gratitude that, just that summer, maybe not even a couple of months before I had had a refresher course for the CPR,” Quintanilla said.
Quintanilla said he was just doing his job and he would do it again.
Quintanilla explained the incident and how it happened during one of his physical education classes.
He said the students were completing a fitness test and the students were running a mile when he suddenly saw a group of students gathered around another student who was lying on the floor.
“I quickly took action, radioed for help,” Quintanilla said.
When Quintanilla got to the boy, he didn’t detect a pulse and didn’t see the boy moving, so he then performed CPR.
Quintanilla said after about 16 compressions the boy gasped for air, got some of his color back and cried before paramedics arrived.
Quintanilla said after the incident he was able to see the boy’s parents and they hugged.
“He’s in my class every day. It’s just a reminder to me that, one, training works. Two, I was in the right place at the right time. And I’m just very thankful that I was there to be able to help this boy,” Quintanilla said.
To learn more about becoming CPR certified, you can click on the following websites: