Just 11 days after her Virginia Beach Girl Scout troop went through CPR training, 11-year-old Vada Carawan put those skills to use by performing CPR on her father who was suffering from a heart attack.
Vada's dad became unresponsive while they were at home, and her initial reaction was to panic.
But then her recent training kicked in.
Of course, it was scary, and I started tearing up and I was like, ‘What do I do?' Like, for a minute there I was in complete shock. And then I was like, ‘Heart attack … heart attack, 911.'
While on the phone with the dispatcher, Vada began chest compressions on her dad and continued until the paramedics arrived to take over. Once there, they were able to revive her dad before taking him to the hospital.
Vada said the CPR training she received through her Girl Scout troop was the reason she was able to overcome her panic and help her dad. She went on to say,
I was actually the only person in my whole class to successfully save our dummy because when you do CPR, the dummy has lights, and if it's green, you're doing it correctly, going deep enough and all that, and you have the right amount of strength.
Thankfully, Vada was able to learn exactly what she needed to do in the situation, from recognizing what was happening, to remaining calm enough to call 911, and then performing CPR on her dad.
For others facing similar crises, Vada advises,
Just put your mind to anything that you would want to do. First, I was like, I don't know if I can do CPR, but apparently I can.
Apparently so!
Vada's dad is still in the hospital, but is continuing to improve thanks to his little girl's quick thinking.
Nice work, Girl Scout!
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