Medford Teen Helps Save Child Who Stopped Breathing

MEDFORD, MA – A Medford High School senior is being hailed for her quick thinking in helping to save a child's life. Exsandrine Jean Marie, a student in Medford High School's Emergency Medical Response Course, came to the aid of a 2-year-old boy who went into cardiac arrest in Marshalls.

In an email to her teacher, Jack Paster, Jean Marie said she knew she had help when she saw the child have a seizure.

"My heart was racing but I knew that if I waited any longer for (the) EMT to arrive something else could have happened," she wrote. "I want to say how happy I am to have you as a teacher because you (have) shown me not to be scared while performing CPR. A year ago if this situation were to occur, I would not know what to do. I was the only bystander who knew what to do."

Paster's course is taught in conjunction with Bunker Hill Community College. Students who pass receive five AP science credits and four undergraduate college credits from BHCC, in addition to learning potentially lifesaving skills.

"I do everything I can to prepare my students for the possibility that they may be called upon to perform skills designed to keep someone alive until higher-level EMS personnel arrive on the scene to continue the care that they (EMRs) have initiated," Paster said in a statement. "I am so proud of Exsandrine. She is a remarkable young woman. She was able to transfer the skills she learned in the classroom to a real-world emergency situation. As a teacher, I couldn’t ask anything more of my students."

Image via MPS