A second chance at life inspires a full circle moment for Red Cross CPR instructor

This past March, American Red Cross of Western New York intern Sado Isak found herself before an auditorium full of local students.

“I think what we as individuals fear the most ends up being what we’re the most good at.”

A Brockport public health graduate with a fear of public speaking, the 24-year-old intern was leading one of the several Hands-Only CPR courses she would teach that week, each with a mindset that Isak is proud to share with those she encounters.

“Thank God for the good and the bad, because those situations are bound to teach you something. They either make you or break you.”

In her nearly two and a half decades, Isak has learned quite a bit. A native of Uganda, Isak moved to the Rochester area with her family as a 7-year-old after living in a refugee camp and fondly recalled her first interaction with snow.

“I thought it was left over from a party or something, I couldn’t understand why it was all over the place. It was cold!”

But fast forward to March 2020 and Isak will tell you it was her life-threatening experience with COVID-19 at the onset of a global pandemic that helped to fortify her way of thinking.

As she worked to complete her final semester at Monroe Community College, Isak struggled for weeks with an illness whose progression was still relatively unknown to healthcare professionals and the world. After four weeks of battling what she thought was a terrible cold at home surrounded by family, she said her body simply gave out.

“I have never experienced that much pain, that much sickness.”

Paramedics were called to her home and provided lifesaving compressions, resuscitating Isak before taking her to a local hospital for treatment where she quickly recovered.

“I feel like that left a huge mark on me,” Isak explained. “It was very scary. I’ve never experienced anything like that, and I never thought I would be getting CPR done to me. I see this as a great sign that I was destined to do something. I was destined to do something better.”

Since then, Isak has taken full advantage of her second chance – turning it into a full circle moment

pursuing a degree in Public Health and starting an internship with the American Red Cross, not long after another second chance moment seen around the world shone a spotlight on the importance of CPR and preparedness training.

“I’ve been doing a lot of youth leadership programs like Prepare with Pedro, and a lot of Hands-Only CPR trainings,” she explained. “I didn’t really think of the trauma of what I went through, I just thought we need to teach people how to properly treat someone who needs it.”

Since January, the American Red Cross has experienced a notable increase in inquiries about CPR and AED training, and in course enrollments – as well as how to obtain an AED. And while the industry continues to see a growing interest in preparedness training such as CPR/AED training, Isak who graduated from Brockport last month, hopes her experience inspires others to follow suit.

“I’m a huge believer in that everything happens for a reason,” she explained. “If it were you, wouldn’t you want someone to do the same for you?”

Play safer this sports season with Red Cross training

Back to school also means back to practice for thousands of student athletes and coaches. The American Red Cross has training and resources available for people to learn how to treat a variety of emergencies and injuries that may occur throughout the sports season.

“School and neighborhood coaches, athletes and spectators should know how to help prevent and respond to common sports injuries such as strains and sprains, fractures, cuts and concussions,” said Nancy M. Blaschak, Regional CEO.

Safe Kids Worldwide reports that a child is hurt playing sports every 25 seconds and that more than 1 million emergency room visits are made due to sports injuries each year. Sports injuries account for about 20 percent of all injury-related emergency room visits for young people, according to their study.

The Red Cross has developed a number of resources for everyone involved in sports and recreational activities:

·         First Aid, Health and Safety for Coaches is an online program for teens and adults who coach at any age level. Developed with the National Federation of State High School Associations, this course covers first aid skills including breathing emergencies and injuries to muscles, bones and joints. Coaches are encouraged to take a CPR/AED course as well.

·         Family First Aid and CPR is an online course for those not required to have OSHA-compliant certification. Participants learn how to treat cardiac, breathing and first aid emergencies until help arrives. Pediatric modules are also available.

·         American Red Cross First Aid App is a free app for smart phones and tablets. It gives users instant access to information on how to handle the most common first aid situations, and includes videos and interactive quizzes. The app puts lifesaving information right in people’s hands wherever and whenever they need it.

Information on courses and additional resources are available at redcross.org. A variety of Red Cross apps can be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android by searching for American Red Cross, or by going to redcross.org/mobileapps.

Beat the Heat

“Heat can be especially hazardous to anyone exercising or playing outdoors this time of year. People should avoid scheduling workouts and exercise during the hottest times of the day,” added Blaschak.  “Take frequent breaks and stay hydrated.”

A first aid "fire drill"

Think back to your school days. How many times did those fire alarms go off, leading the teachers to line hundreds of students up to exit the building in a safe and orderly fashion? Chances are, we've all been a part of dozens of fire drills (as I recall, they always took place on typically frozen WNY winter days, not in gorgeous conditions like today...), designed to make sure everyone in the building knows what to do should an actual emergency take place. Well this morning, I found myself taking part in a "first aid fire drill!!"

I was too busy taking part to get a picture of the actual
first aid"fire drill." But these are some of the
reviewers who critiqued our work.

I received a call asking me to quickly make my way downstairs. I ran down to the reception desk, where I was told to head in to the Board Room. I was already a bit confused before I opened the door to see about 20 people. I was greeted by someone telling me this was a Red Cross drill, then I saw a "victim" lying on the floor, "bleeding" from her forehead. I immediately flashed to my first aid training. My colleague Jose was first on the scene, so I asked him what happened. He told me she was bleeding and unconscious but breathing. I asked if I should call 911 while he attended to her wound, and he agreed. When I returned from "calling" 911, another of our colleagues, Susan, was also on the scene. Then, the scenario changed. We were told that our "victim" had now stopped breathing. Jose quickly began CPR. I asked if we had an AED on-scene, which we did. Susan and I set about putting it together, then Susan hooked it up to our "victim" (by this time, a mannequin had replaced our role-playing instructor) and followed the prompts to use it properly. At this point, I took a step back to lead the EMT's to the scene while Jose and Susan continued their resuscitation efforts. We were then told that the EMT's had "arrived" and our drill was over.

A few minutes later, the three of us were summoned back into the room for a review. We were told that we communicated well together, complimented for our willingness to help, and told that we used our training well and our "victim" survived. 

After calming down a bit, this made me remember why we did all those fire drills in school. It's great to be told what to do in case of emergency, but it's another thing entirely to put it into practice using a realistic scenario. We've all taken CPR/First Aid training, but most of us have never had to use it, and those skills can get rusty without a little bit of practice.

That's why the Red Cross in this region is starting to offer these follow-up assessment "fire drills" as part of our corporate first aid training. If you'd like to schedule a life-saving training at your business (and then face the "test" afterwards!!), email or call Jill Gregory at (716) 878-2382. Or, for a full list of Health & Safety courses, please visit www.redcross.org/take-a-class. And remember, practice makes perfect!!

Scary Swimming Stats

If you tuned into NBC's Today Show this morning, you may have gotten a rude wake-up call regarding the dangers of swimming. Among the sobering statistics in their story, Pool Drowning Deaths on the Rise:

• There have been 77 drownings nationwide since Memorial Day
• 390 children under 14 drown each year
• Drowning is the #1 cause of death in children five and under.

As a parent who had his five year old (along with nieces, nephews and other relatives) in the water much of last week, this story is pretty alarming. We've already had several stories of drownings and near-drownings right here in WNY this summer, with several weeks of swimming season still ahead of us. 

The good news is, the Red Cross is here to help you take steps to ensure you don't become a statistic. The first--and maybe most important--step is to make sure everyone in your family knows how to swim. Even if you don't own a pool or live near a body of water, chances are your children will visit a friend or neighbor with a pool at some point. Enroll them in a Red Cross Learn-to-Swim program at your nearest aquatic facility (my son is taking his second class this afternoon!). Make sure you only swim in designated areas, and that there's a Red Cross-certified lifeguard at all public locations. Never swim alone, and make sure children are under constant supervision.

Of course, even if you follow all the recommended safety guidelines, there's always the chance that an emergency could occur. Make sure you are able to recognize when someone is having trouble in the water (as you can see from the Today Show video, it's not like you've seen in the movies!). Then, be ready to help save a life--sign up to take a CPR/AED/First Aid training course today.

Take it from this father--you'll never be able to stop your kids from wanting to enjoy the water throughout the summer, nor should you want to. Just take the time to ensure this summer swimming tradition doesn't turn tragic.

Make sure your summer story doesn't turn into a tragedy

Summer doesn't officially begin until Wednesday, but we all know the season is already in full swing, considering the unofficial summer kickoff in Western New York, The BASH, took place over two weeks ago. Now, as schools let out (my son finishes Kindergarten tomorrow!!) with temperatures predicted to be in the high 80's or even the 90's much of this week, many people will be hitting the pools to stay cool over the next few months.

Already, there are two stories in local media today about the dangers that water can present. Thankfully, the first of those stories has a happy ending. Because this mother had taken the time to learn CPR, she was able to revive her daughter after she was found unconscious in a pool, and that little girl is now hospitalized for what are reported to be precautionary reasons. We love to hear stories with happy endings like this, which is why we are thankful to Channel 7 and YNN for giving us the opportunity to discuss the importance CPR/AED, First Aid and water safety training today.

Unfortunately, not every story ends this well. Also in the news today is the story of a man whose body was pulled from the Erie Canal after he reportedly jumped in to cool off and never resurfaced. As summer begins, it's important to remember that not every body of water is as inviting as it appears. Fast moving currents and sudden dropoffs that can change water depth can occur sometimes even in what appears to be shallow water. We're surrounded by Great Lakes and several rivers and streams, but you should only swim in areas that are designated for swimming and supervised by lifeguards, and make sure to keep in mind your limitations and the abilities of everyone swimming with you.

Even if you take all the proper precautions for swimming in lakes, rivers, streams or in the neighborhood pool, an emergency can still take place. Knowing CPR can make the difference between life and death, so please take the time to sign up for a training class (and/or water safety courses!) so you are prepared should a situation occur. Let's work together to make sure this summer is filled with fun stories instead of tragic endings!

That's what we like to hear!

If you are a regular visitor to this blog, you know that we are constantly preaching "preparedness." We're always reminding people of the importance of preparing ahead of time so you're able to respond appropriately to an emergency situation. But you may ask, why is it so important to be prepared? Well, you're probably sick of hearing it from us, so consider this note our Health & Safety team received earlier this week:

Dear American Red Cross,

I just wanted to let you know that we had our first “real” emergency in the building today, and thanks to our Red Cross training, our employees had the confidence and skills to react when a co-worker collapsed and showed signs of having a cardiac event. Luckily, we did not need to use our defibrillator, but we had one on-scene and our trained staff members were ready to take action if necessary. Please let you instructors know that their students did an outstanding job!

We are so thankful that we set up the Adult CPR/AED training with you, and we highly recommend this program to other companies. Today was a great example of how successful and important this life-saving training can be.

Best Regards,

Serena Lubacz

Human Resources Manager

Delta Sonic

Fortunately, this story had a happy ending. But who knows what might have happened had the folks at Delta Sonic not taken the time to prepare for such a situation by having the proper equipment on hand and training their employees how to use it!

Don't wait until it's too late to learn these life-saving skills yourself. A full list of our CPR/AED, First Aid and other Health & Safety courses is available here. You can also set up an on-location training for your staff at your facilities by contacting Jill Gregory at (716) 878-2382 or jill.gregory@redcross.org.

Thanks to Serena for sharing this experience with us. We'd like to hear your Red Cross Story as well! There's still time to win a pair of free tickets to BASH*2012!!