Athletic Trainer Saves Woman's Life After Finding Her Foaming at Mouth & Not Breathing
As an athletic trainer for Brien McMahon High School, Ashley-Ann Labrador is always watching her young athletes to ensure that they are safe and healthy.
She needs to be properly trained in first aid and CPR in order to do just that. Not only has Labrador renewed her CPR certification every two years since 2010, but she also became an instructor in January 2018.
But until May 12, 2018, she had never had to put any of her training into action.
While working a junior varsity game her main focus was on her athletes, she soon heard about a parent who fell to the ground.
She rushed to the parent’s aid and found the woman losing color and foaming at the mouth. She was having a seizure.
Only a few moments had passed before the woman stopped breathing. Labrador immediately began administering CPR until the parent became responsive.
“It all happened so fast. I just felt like I happened to be there at the right place, right time,” she told The Hour. “And being in the health care field and being a health care professional, I had the capacity and the training to at least minimize the adverse effects of a particular situation like that.”
Adverse effects like brain damage and even death.
While many are calling Labrador a hero, she remains humble and said she could not have acted alone. She praised the paramedics who responded so quickly and were able to take over.
She also thanked Jeff Diraffaele, the parent who was talking to the woman before she fell. He caught her as she was falling and held her hand as Labrador performed CPR.
“I held her and I helped Ashley, but Ashley really was spot on. It was amazing. She was nervous but she did it and she did all the right things. My wife’s a trauma nurse and I know what’s wrong and what’s right,” he said.
Even the athletic director for the high school, Joe Madaffari, praised Labrador for her actions during the game.
“You can know how to execute it but to actually do it, you have to be in the situation and sometimes that’s kind of difficult. But just to react and to help an individual I feel is outstanding,” he said.
Without Labrador’s quick response and CPR training, the events of the day could have been much more grim. She continues to be humble about the situation, but there’s no denying that she is a true hero!
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