Woman performs CPR and defibrillates teenage daughter during cardiac arrest
A North Carolina mother saved her daughter’s life by performing CPR after she collapsed and went into cardiac arrest while warming up for a cheerleading competition.
Keianna Joe, a cheerleader who was competing Sunday at Broughton High School in Raleigh, North Carolina, was participating in a stunt when her teammates noticed something was wrong, WRAL reported.
“They had just completed the very first stunt. At this point in the stunt, they go down to where the girls are holding her in a seated position. When she got to that position, she was unresponsive,” her mother, Andrea Joe, told the outlet.
WRAL noted that Keianna’s trainer initially thought she was having a seizure before making the horrifying discovery that she had no pulse.
“I saw his trainer run out the back door of the other building frantically shouting, ‘Call an ambulance. Get an ambulance. We need the ambulance here now”, Andrea reminded Until today.
Luckily for Keianna, her mother, a certified medical assistant, knew exactly what to do and immediately started performing CPR.
Andrea “took charge of CPR, administering about 3 rounds”, an account written by Andrea’s sister read.
“I just took over. I know CPR, I know how to do this. She’s my baby and I have to save her,” Andrea told TODAY.
When the automatic external defibrillator (AED) arrived, Andrea delivered the necessary shock and was able to restore her daughter’s breathing, according to WRAL.
The outlet noted that Keianna was first taken to WakeMed Hospital before being transferred to Duke Medical Center.
TODAY reported that Keianna suffered a cardiac arrest, and while doctors were unable to uncover the cause in her case, such occurrences in people as young as Keianna are often the result of pre-existing conditions.
A series of GoFundMe updates written by Keiana’s aunt reveal the teenager gradually recovered over the next week after being initially placed in a medically induced coma.
The doctors eventually decided that Keiana needed an “ICD (implantable cardiac defibrillator)”, a device that “is usually placed just under the skin by the collarbone and is used to detect and stop arrhythmias by delivering electrical shocks to the needed to restore a regular heartbeat,” read an update from GoFundMe.
Describing the trip home from the hospital, Andrea said she was overwhelmed with gratitude for her daughter whom she helped save.
“And I made her hold her hand, and I just cried because she’s with me,” she told TODAY. ” ‘She’s there. She is right next to me. And I have it and it’s the best feeling ever.
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