In this business, just when you think you've got about every type of health care communication covered, along comes one you didn't expect. How about a
9-year-old seeing CPR in a movie, learning it from his parents when he asked, and using what he learned to save his little sister's life?
Yep, you heard it right.
Tristan Saghin wants to be a medic. He got a chance to practice his dreamed-of role recently when his 2-year-old sister, Brooke, fell into a swimming
pool. She wasn't breathing when her mom pulled her out.
Brooke's grandmother called 911 at Tristan's urging, and then the young man went to work to save his sibling's life.
Tristan's dad, Chris, says Tristan told him, "'I really didn't think. I just knew I had to do something.' "
"You don't expect that to ever come to a place where it saves your daughter," Saghin says. "He feels proud that he did it, and we tell him, 'We're real
proud of you.' "
How children can be heroes
CNN Health
shares how parents can teach their children what to do in an emergency. The first, of course, is to dial 911. Even a 3-year-old can handle that task.
"Any child can be taught to call 911, but every child can be taught to do more in an emergency," says Dr. David Markenson, a New York pediatrician who
advises the American Red Cross on child safety and first aid.
"There are kids who always feel like they're the in-charge kids," Markenson says. "The key is giving them the skills to use that desire to be in
charge."
Children can be a hero in the following emergency situations, CNN says:
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Choking
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Bleeding
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Fire
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Drowning
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When a person is not breathing
For more information
Both KidsHealth and the American Heart Association websites share the CPR message. Visit their websites to learn more about: