Jeffersonville School Staff Save Student with Quick CPR

JEFFERSONVILLE, IN — A Jeffersonville middle school student is alive today thanks to the quick thinking and training of school staff who performed CPR after he suffered a sudden medical emergency.

Brendan Sullivan, a student at Parkview Middle School, was walking in the hallway when his heart stopped. Doctors later determined that the medical emergency was caused by a collapsed lung, a rare complication of Brendan’s asthma. The air pressure from the ruptured lung effectively squeezed blood out of his heart, causing him to collapse. Without immediate intervention, the situation could have been fatal.

Fortunately, a school resource officer found Brendan and immediately started CPR. A gym teacher, school nurse, and other staff members quickly joined in, continuing the CPR until first responders arrived on the scene. The coordinated effort, coupled with the staff’s training, was credited by officials with preserving the student’s life.

Brendan and his family are now sharing their story with the hope of inspiring others. His father, Steve Sullivan, expressed deep gratitude for the staff’s actions, saying their training made all the difference. The family is advocating for greater awareness of asthma risks and is encouraging more people to learn life-saving skills like CPR to be prepared for any medical emergency. Brendan is expected to make a full recovery.

In addition to having life saving measures in all schools in the state, Governor Mike Braun signed a house bill back in July, known as “Jake’s Law” which requires all Indiana schools to have a Cardiac Emergency Response Plan in place at all events. The law is named in honor of Jake West, a 17-year-old who died of cardiac arrest on a high school football field back in 2013.

Jeffersonville School Staff Save Student with Quick CPR  was originally published on wibc.com