Heroic Chick-fil-A Employee Saves Life of Man Dying in Parking Lot: 'God Placed Me' There
A Chick-fil-A employee in Chula Vista, California, is being hailed for his heroism after he ran from his post outside the restaurant’s drive-thru to perform CPR on a man in the nearby parking lot.
For Tauya Nenguke, it began as just another day at work. As a manager at the fast-food chain, Nenguke is used to overseeing other employees, adding support to make sure the branch produces the same level of top-quality service for which Chick-fil-A is famous.
However, the team leader has other aspirations outside of the Chick-fil-A family.
Hoping to attend nursing school, the 22-year-old has already taken several classes to help reach his goal while working for the restaurant.
But he never imagined that his new skills would come in handy quite so soon.
On Sept. 11 around 8:30 p.m., Nenguke was working with his drive-thru team taking orders outside when he noticed a dangerous situation developing across the parking lot. A group of friends was standing around a 20-year-old man who had fallen unconscious, trying to perform CPR as the man slipped into cardiac arrest.
Seeing the danger, Nenguke leaped into action.
“He handed his iPad for orders to one on his co-workers and sprinted across the parking lot,” Cheryl Shields, Chick-fil-A director of marketing and community relations for Eastlake Terraces Chick-fil-A, wrote on the location’s Facebook account according to KSWB-TV.
As he ran up to help, the Chick-fil-A employee discovered the group descending into a panic at the sight of their friend unconscious on the ground.
The man “wasn’t breathing or anything,” Nenguke told KGTV.
“Tauya immediately took over the situation and started chest compressions on the unresponsive young man before having someone call 911,” the Chick-fil-A Facebook post continued.
“His eyes were rolled back behind his head,” the manager said of the stranger. “I know this guy was out. I didn’t know how long I just started chest compression immediately.”
As they waited for paramedics to arrive at the scene, Nenguke coached the man’s friends in the correct procedures for CPR, taking turns keeping his heart pumping until he could be taken to a hospital.
The man survived the incident, according to paramedics who said that without Nenguke’s skills and quick-thinking, the patient very likely would have died.
But Nenguke isn’t taking all the credit for saving the stranger’s life. He said he knows it was in God’s plan for him to be there at just the right time.
And not only that, but the future RN is grateful for the opportunity to help, feeling that the experience confirmed his dream of serving others through medicine.
God not only sent him to help someone in need, but also provided reassurance that he is on the right path.
“There wasn’t any hesitation on my part. I knew that was the place where God placed me at that time,” he said. “This was honestly a really big calling to be in health care because it was like instinct took over.”
His coworkers weren’t surprised that Nenguke stepped up to help when no one else knew what to do.
“He has made us proud for his quick action and willingness to help someone who had a need!” co-worker Rachel Hunsberger wrote on Facebook.
The Western Journal reached out to Tauya Nenguke but has not received a response. We will update this article if and when we do.
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