School Staff Knowledge of CPR/AED Use Save a Life

The 16-year-old played football, basketball and was on the weightlifting team.

But on Feb. 23, his life almost ended when he went into cardiac arrest during 5th-period gym class.

“I don’t remember that day at all. They told me I was running around like normal and I sat down because I wasn’t feeling good. And then I passed out and was unresponsive,” Mazzeo said.

His physical education teacher Wendy Rogers got to him first.

“He didn’t have a pulse and he wasn’t breathing,” she said.

Rogers immediately called for the school nurse, Amy Ponce.

“There was no time for us to be nervous or anxious. We had to do what needed to be done,” Ponce said.

She did CPR, while Secretary Hannah Hall brought the AED device and delivered a life saving electric shock to Mazzeo’s heart.

Asst. Principal Tim Light continued chest compressions.

https://www.wptv.com/news/state/school-staff-saves-life-of-16-year-old-florida-boy-who-suffered-cardiac-arrest-during-gym-class?autoplay=true