On September 3, 2010, the staff, faculty and students at Walbridge Elementary in North St. Louis were going about their day as usual. There were two classes of students taking P.E. in the gym – when suddenly, 9-year-old Mia Davis fell to the floor and started convulsing.

 

The teachers pulled all of the students to the other side of the gym and notified Principal Lewis, who rushed to Mia’s side.

 

When she got there, Dr. Hortense Harrison-Lewis says Mia’s convulsions quickly turned into a seizure before Mia became completely unconscious. Dr. Lewis asked the other adults to have the other students line up and go outside to the playground so they did not have to witness what would happen. At the same time, the school secretary called 9-1-1.

 

So Dr. Lewis and the secretary moved Mia’s body into a position where Dr. Lewis could perform CPR. She started by opening Mia’s airway and looking for any signs of life – that means listening for breaths, and feeling Mia’s chest. But Dr. Lewis could tell Mia was not breathing.

 

So Dr. Lewis started CPR by giving Mia two rescue breaths, then started with chest compressions. She repeated the cycles of two rescue breaths and 30 chest compressions over and over until the paramedics arrived.

 

Dr. Lewis says she learned CPR and First Aid years ago from the American Red Cross, while working at a school in Kansas City. And even though that training had happened more than a decade earlier, Dr. Lewis says she recalled the steps exactly – almost as if she had been taught the day before.

 

As she continued to perform CPR and waited for the paramedics, Dr. Lewis says Mia did end up exhaling a large gush of air, but she never inhaled afterwards, so Dr. Lewis continued CPR. That happened at least three times, but Mia never regained consciousness.

 

Dr. Lewis says as she continued CPR, she tried not to think about the potentially tragic outcome of this situation. Instead, she found her strength by quietly praying as she counted her chest compressions.

 

Dr. Lewis ended up performing continuous CPR on Mia for at least 11 minutes! In an emergency, even 10 seconds can feel like a lifetime, so 11 minutes can seem to be an eternity.

 

Paramedics did arrive – and rushed Mia to the hospital. Dr. Lewis followed the ambulance to Children’s and stayed with Mia until her father arrived.

 

Mia regained consciousness nearly 24 hours later, and spent several days in the hospital. But she returned to school the next week – and it was cause for celebration.

 

Mia’s father, Michael, now says Dr. Lewis is more than just a Principal – she’s Mia’s hero and an honorary “auntie” in their family.

 

To sign up for a First Aid or CPR course, click here.