It is very common for people to think of CPR in an abstract, almost academic sense. After all, a majority of the US population has never witnessed first-hand someone experiencing cardiac arrest, nor have most people seen CPR performed by a bystander.
Yet every now and then it’s important to put a name and a face to the effectiveness of CPR and reiterate the simple fact that not only does it save lives, it can, quite literally raise the dead.
Take the case of Mike Mullann. On a typical day, out of no where, he collapsed from cardiac arrest. Fortunately, his wife Nancy was near by. Better yet, Nancy knew CPR. She began chest compressions, called CPR, but it quickly became evident that Mike had expired.
Yet Nancy continued to give chest compressions, and soon enough, paramedics arrived with an automatic external defibrillator (AED) to jolt his heart. Incredibly, Mike – quite literally – came back to life.
Of course, stories like this aren’t hard to find – such miracles happen every day. But it is nonetheless important to note what made such miracles possible, namely onsite CPR training, AEDs, and a CPR-trained woman who rose the occasion.
