CPR training quickly comes in handyby Nathan Arneal Saving someone’s life can make a great first impression. Just ask Jacob Spicer of Ames, one of the newest fire fighters for the North Bend Volunteer Fire Department. Shortly after becoming certified in CPR at a November class in North Bend, he used his newfound skills to save the life of his girlfriend’s father.
Now that’s getting in good with the family. Spicer was visiting his girlfriend Ashley and her parents in Smith Falls, Ontario, Canada, 120 miles north of Syracuse, New York, in December. A question came up and Ashley went to ask her dad. She found Mac unresponsive and after trying to wake him, she called Spicer in. Mac’s face and lips were blue. His breathing was slow and rough, with breaths coming about once every 90 seconds as he lie unconscious. “It was a very shallow, labored kind-of sucky sounding breath,” Spicer said, “like you’re sucking air through a wet cloth.” Spicer’s training kicked in. He removed Mac’s pillow so his head was flat on the bed. As Ashley called for an ambulance, Spicer began CPR compressions, giving chest pumps to the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive” as he was taught. The minutes wore on as Spicer kept at it. Ashley stayed on the phone with the dispatcher, who offered advice, such as rolling him on his side to clear his airway. Mac’s color seemed to be returning and his breathing was getting closer to normal. The dispatcher said he was sounding better but to continue with the compressions. Ten minutes passed. As he was taught, Spicer kept his arms locked out and used the weight of his torso to create the compressions. “Once the adrenaline is going,” he said, “you don’t really get tired.”
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