Ariana Hargis has been a Red Cross trained lifeguard for nearly three years, and most recently, works at the West County YMCA while also finishing her senior year at Parkway North.

This past fall, Ariana was working at the pool when, among the usual swimmers, she noticed a man who had stepped out of the water and was looking extremely tired. She approached him, and asked if he was feeling okay. He told her he was fine—and not to worry. So Ariana moved along, but continued to keep a close eye on this gentleman.

In July 2009, David Ludgate (Belleville, IL) was taking advantage of the warm sunny weather to work on his boat in his backyard. Meanwhile, his neighbors—the McCords—were watching their kids play in a backyard pool. 

Tim Schuetz and his son Zach are your typical, All-American father-son duo. While Zach was growing up, Tim taught his son to play sports, how to be a Boy Scout, and how to fix things around the house. But it was during one of those home projects that both Tim and Zach were forever changed.

As Tim describes it—the problem started with the bathtub drain clogging. Several inside attempts to fix the clog had failed, so he and Zach went looking for the problem pipe in the crawl space under their home.

Last May, Robert Kennedy and his family made the trip from Belleview, Nebraska, to be in St. Louis for a family member’s graduation. Robert and his wife, Barb, along with their daughter and son-in-law, Mike Johnson, were sharing a two-room suite in Maryland Heights.

That evening, in the hotel room, Robert suddenly collapsed. His family rushed to his side—and while one of them called 911, Mike says he knew just enough about CPR to get started trying to restore Robert’s heart rhythm. The police dispatcher helped walk Mike through the steps.

John and Brianna Grayson are brother and sister, and both attend Rittenour High School. Brianna is in the 11^th grade and is an honor student who plays in the band. John is in 10^th grade and plays football, is on the wrestling squad and in the orchestra.

In July, 2009, both were at their grandmother Mary’s house, visiting their godmother Joan Smith. During their conversation, Joan says she started gasping for breath because she couldn’t breathe. A few seconds later, she blacked out.

Alexandra Ripper is a star student, active in multiple sports like soccer, volleyball and field hockey, and she is an accomplished Girl Scout. These achievements alone would make any parent proud. But it is what happened at her house in February, 2009, that surprised her entire family.

Jean Smyth is a familiar face at the Red Cross. She most often helps out the St. Charles County Service Center, doing some of everything! Jean responds to local house fires, educates the community on how to prepare for disasters, and even teaches CPR and First Aid herself. But even during the hundreds of times she has helped others, she didn’t realize she would one day use that training to help save her husband’s life.

In June, 2009, Dean Burden and his family were enjoying a regular dinner at home. In fact, it was better than usual, because the Burden family was having steak. Both Dean and his 11-year-old son Alex love steak nights.

On Saturday, September 27, 2008, Mike and his wife Sandy were at home doing yardwork. Sandy was in front of the house, painting railings, while Mike was in the back cutting grass. Sandy heard yelling and saw a disturbing sight: a man who had been hit by an SUV– and was being dragged underneath. Sandy yelled for Mike, who came running.

At this point, it appeared the victim was trapped underneath the SUV. Mike knew the first thing he had to do was stop the SUV and the driver. Mike made his way to the driver’s door, grabbed the woman behind the wheel, got her out of the SUV and then turned the engine off. According to law enforcement reports, this kept the driver from causing further harm.

In February, 2009, Police Officer Dean Wacker was speaking with a man named Roy Juergens outside the Wal-Mart in Sullivan, Missouri. He could tell that Roy was upset, and Dean was trying to help him calm down. But suddenly, in mid-sentence, Roy went limp and collapsed onto the ground. Dean quickly started assessing Roy’s condition. As a former medic in the military, and now a police officer, Dean knew how to look for signs of life. Roy was obviously not breathing and had no pulse. So Dean prepared to begin CPR. At that same moment, Juli Patterson had pulled into a nearby parking spot and saw this stranger collapse at Dean’s feet. Having just gotten off work at Missouri Eastern Correctional Center, she was still in uniform, and even had her work belt – with a breathing mask – on her.

In January, 2009, Corrections Officer Jeff Capestro was working in the visitation room of Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. It’s a large room where inmates can socialize with their friends and family for a short period of time. It can get loud, occasionally, and for the most part, being there is the highlight of an inmate’s week.

Dwayne Hart works as a Corrections Officer at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center. It is a medium-security facility, housing more than a thousand male inmates at any one time. Dwayne admits – his job isn’t what most people would call “glamorous.” Among other duties, he is responsible for helping transfer inmates to the ambulance when they require medical assistance. He has seen men who are dead or near-death. And he knows that every second counts in an emergency.

Adam has been a lifeguard since 2007, but started a new job working at the Monsanto YMCA in St. Louis just in April 2009.

By June, both the summer camp and the summer swimming season were in full swing. On June 18, Adam and another lifeguard, Leroy Eason, were rotating positions – each spending 30 minutes in the high chair, then 30 minutes walking the pool deck. With school out and a summer camp in progress at the Y, the pool was busy with 30 kids, all in the shallow end of the water.

Adam noticed a girl, named Antonnett, who seemed to be struggling. He walked over to her mom, and began a conversation. He learned that Antonnett has cerebral palsy, just as Adam’s cousin does. It explained her stiff movement in the water, and Adam made a mental note to keep a closer eye on her.

On July 21, 2009,it was around 9 o’clock at night, when Eric Clarkson got a frantic knock on his door in Webster Groves, Missouri. A woman was crying – explaining that her friend was having a heart attack and needed help.

Eric went outside to see the man lying on the ground just across the street in his neighbor’s yard. As a personal trainer, Eric has taken CPR and First Aid through the Red Cross. He says the first thing he thought about was the checklist of items to determine if CPR was necessary – he shook the man and asked if he was okay, and got no response. Eric kneeled down to hear if the man was breathing – which he was not. Eric cleared the man’s airway, and then began CPR.

Julie helps produce some of this country’s favorite drinks – Dansani water, PowerAde, and of course, Coca-Cola. As a production operator at a plant in Truesdale, Missouri, she spends her days stocking material used on the manufacturing lines, and helping to relieve other workers so they can take their scheduled breaks.

June 11, 2009, was like most other days. That is, until lunch time. Julie was having lunch with co-workers, and had a chance to eat and talk with Kim Narsh – someone she rarely saw in the lunch room. Kim says she isn’t sure why she decided to take a late lunch that day – and although she usually ate at her desk, for some reason she decided to be more social that day.

You can’t tell just by looking at him, but Ken Thouvenot has helped save more than 600 lives!

In August 2009, Ken donated his 200^th unit of blood – marking 25 gallons over the course of his lifetime. That’s roughly equivalent to giving all the blood in his body – 15 times over! And because each pint of blood is capable of helping three people, he’s potentially saved up to 600 people’s lives.

You do not get to be a 25-gallon blood donor overnight. But Ken didn’t start donating blood until he became a father. Ken’s wife, Lydia, says she needed three pints of blood after their son’s birth, and at that time – in 1956 – hospitals asked that you “replace” the blood that was given. And so it started.

Elizabeth is both a nurse and the director of the Family Partners Adult Day Services in Des Peres, Missouri. Family Partners specializes in treating seniors with mental impairment because of dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.

In the spring of 2009, Elizabeth was eating lunch as she did every day: with the patients. She remembers that it was near the end of the meal, as she was putting a plate away, that she heard someone calling for help. When Elizabeth turned around, she saw Valeria Filson – a 93-year-old patient – and Valeria’s face was a deep shade of blue.

This story shows why teamwork can be so important to saving a life. In the summer of 2008, Molly Dunn was working as the lifeguard on duty at the Lodge of Des Peres pool, and noticed what looked like a young boy having trouble in the water. Molly contacted her manager, Tracy Hamacher, to confirm that a rescue was needed.

Based on what she saw, Tracy agreed the boy needed help. Molly quickly entered the water and approached four-year-old Adam. Molly could tell that he wasn’t breathing and immediately took him to the side of the pool, where Tracy was waiting.

On July 5, 2009, Brandon Brooks was having an otherwise normal Sunday. He had stopped at the Quik Trip near his home to fill up his tank. As he leaned on his car and watched the gallons – and the dollars – tick past, a stranger approached.

The woman ran up to Brandon, scaring him at first, but she couldn’t speak. She had her hands around her throat, indicating that she couldn’t breathe and needed help.

Now there were dozens of people in that Quik Trip parking lot (and more inside the store) but she happened to pick Brandon. Probably because he was closest, but as luck would have it, he knew exactly what to do.

In March 2009, Kimberly Showmaker-Allen and her husband Ken felt like they had already achieved a miracle. After doctors had told them they wouldn’t be able to have children, Kimberly gave birth to Melania Allen. She was one month premature and weighed just 6 pounds. But after two days of observation at the hospital, doctors allowed Melania to go home.

Just 23 hours later, Kimberly was feeding Melania when she realized – the baby had stopped breathing. Imagine: this is your first child, your first day home from the hospital, and your baby suddenly turns blue and stops breathing. Would you know what to do?