GLENDALE, Ariz.
--
A 911 operator instructed a 16-year-old girl on how to perform continuous chest compressions on her mom who was in full cardiac arrest.
Amber Christiansen said she had never been trained in doing CPR. When she saw her mom, Tracy Wolters, in distress, Christiansen said she flew into action.
"I just listened to what the 911 operator was telling me on the phone," Christiansen said. "I know after the firefighters first got there, the first thing in my mind was, 'Don't let her die.'"
The pair had been walking down a Phoenix street on Feb. 17 when Wolters was stricken.
Christiansen said she thought her mom had tripped.
"I started yelling her name and she wasn't responding," Christiansen said. That's when Christiansen said she called 911 and got help from the operator.
The fire dispatcher did a great job instructing her to do chest compressions prior to our arrival, and in the end, Tracy survived," said Glendale Fire Captain Scott Kohoutek. "We now have the privilege to meet with Tracy and her daughter under much better circumstances largely due to the life-saving actions of a 16-year-old girl."
Wolters, with her daughter by her side, finally got to meet on Tuesday the Glendale firefighters who also helped save her life. Kohoutek, along with firefighters Vanessa Bailey, Joe Wilson and Mike Young, prepared lunch for the pair at Glendale Fire Station 158.
Glendale fire officials said they have been teaching CCC-CPR in the community since 2007. As a result, they said the Glendale passer-by CPR intervention rate increased from 24 percent in 2007 to 31 percent in 2008, compared to 20 percent nationally.
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