"Empowered"
May 25, 2017
Michael A. Villafranco
I recently had the pleasure of speaking to Terri Barr, a nurse practitioner from Jupiter, FL. Earlier this month, Terri’s husband, Tim, collapsed while they were together, taking their Saturday morning stroll. She leapt into action, immediately applying the skills she had learned in her recent CPR and Advanced Cardiac Life Support courses. This is her story…
Good morning Terri. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me.
It’s my pleasure!
Can you tell me a bit about what happened?
So, my husband is a cardiac patient, who had 2 stents placed back in December. I had just returned home from a trip on Friday, May 5th, while my husband was doing his routine at cardiac rehab. His rehab was going very well up until this point… everything seemed fine. The next morning, we went on a walk through the park. My husband sort of stopped, muttered “oh no,” then collapsed. I thought he had just passed out, but I rolled him over and checked his pulse. When I didn’t find anything, I jumped up and began compressions.
How long did it take for you to realize you would have to perform CPR?
Immediately. Everything happened incredibly fast.
What happened next?
As I started compressions, I screamed for help. Apparently someone had heard and called the police, but this was unknown to me at the time. When I saw an onlooker, I called him over. First, I asked him if he knew CPR. When he said he didn’t, I told him to call 911. An officer, I believe her name was Officer Juric, arrived in what felt like 2 minutes. But it’s hard to tell how long everything took…I was so caught up in the moment! Officer Juric had an AED, which immediately told us that my husband needed to be shocked. She had me move out of the way during the first shock, and took over CPR until medics arrived shortly after. They brought him to the hospital and were able to get a stable rhythm.
When in the moment, were you thinking about all of your training, or did you just automatically respond to the situation?
It was completely automatic. I never felt scared. I knew what to do. I felt empowered. I said to myself, “don’t fool around, just start compressions.” I was completely caught up in the moment and everything just happened the way I was taught.
What part about your training do you feel best contributed to your success when performing CPR?
Well, the practical review is very important. Experiencing everything definitely helped when the time came. That being said, hearing my instructor talk about the importance of CPR was the thing that stuck with me the most. My instructor, Chuck Moody, told us stories about performing CPR…they played a huge role in remembering everything. His sample situations gave me the mindset of, “what would you do?”
How is your husband feeling now?
He is doing fantastic! At first, it was very frightening. He was in a coma for two-and-a-half days, and I was worried about possible neurological problems. We had a bit of a scare at the hospital, but he eventually came to. When he woke up, he couldn’t remember a thing, and his chest and back were hurting badly. But the doctor said that was normal after receiving CPR. He was given a pacemaker and sent home a few days later. Everything worked out in the end!
Thank you so much for your time and answers, I greatly appreciate it!
Thank you for speaking to me.
Terri’s fast, effective CPR helped save her husbands life. When emergency struck, she didn’t panic. She remained calm and did what was needed without a second thought. According to Tim’s doctor, people with his condition only survive these episodes 3% of the time. Fortunately, Terri was there and ready to take action at a moment’s notice. Great job Terri!
