Story: Mom’s Quick-Thinking Saves Daughter’s Life
Imagine this: It’s a day like any other and you are enjoying an afternoon with a loved one. Out of the blue, you hear a frantic scream and find your loved one not breathing and unresponsive. You are alone, and you need to act fast. Would you know what to do?
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A now recovered 17-year-old Jordan Angelini (left) with her mother Adrianne Copeland. |
Finding Jordan still faintly breathing, Adrianne immediately ran to the house but found no one to help. By the time she returned, Jordan had just stopped breathing. Adrianne then grabbed the phone from the barn and was calling 9-1-1 as she sprinted back to Jordan.
Remembering what she had learned before, Adrianne immediately started Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) on Jordan with the 2-breaths and 15-chest compressions until the dispatcher informed her that the new procedure has changed to 2-breaths and 30-chest compressions. She followed the dispatcher’s instructions, including tilting Jordan’s head so that air went into her lungs instead of her stomach.
It took about six minutes from the initial 911 call for help to arrive. Adrianne continued to work on Jordan until emergency responders arrived on scene and began administering the Automated External Defibrillator (AED) it worked without a hitch.
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On September 12, 2008, Adrianne Copeland received the Red Cross Rescuer Award for saving her daughter's life. |
Today, Jordan is a healthy 17-year-old teenager with the only sign of the incident being a scar on her left arm that no one knows where it came from. She would not be alive today without Adrianne’s previous knowledge and training in CPR and the dispatch assistance of the dispatcher on the phone. The experience has led Adrianne to pursue a career in emergency response. She has recently completed her Occupational First Aid Level 3.






