The toddler is now doing well.
A Tennessee teen’s quick thinking actions saved a little boy’s life.
Kaela Eads, 18, said she was finishing her shift at a local fast-food restaurant on Tuesday night when a woman who had just exited the drive-thru came running up to the window with her toddler son in her hands asking for help.
“She said ‘can someone help me? He’s not breathing,’” Eads told InsideEdition.com. “I ran outside and took off my apron and laid him on top of it and started doing CPR.”
Eads had learned the technique and received her certification in one of her high school classes but she never thought she’d have to use it.
“I started doing chest compressions. I got him to breathe at one point and then he stopped breathing again. I did it again and I got to him to constantly breathe faintly,” said Eads.
Eads said she didn’t know if she’d be able to perform CPR correctly initially because she’d only practiced on a dummy.
“but I thought to myself I am going to face the inevitable if I don’t try,” said Eads.
The ambulance arrived in less than five minutes and transferred the toddler to the hospital.
Darrell Mears, a Bristol Tennessee Fire Department paramedic, told the Bristol Herald Courier that Eads' actions saved the boy’s life.
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"Early recognition is so important during a medical emergency," Mears said. "If you don't start doing compressions within six minutes, the brain can start to die because it needs oxygen."
Eads said she was able to see the boy later that night at the hospital and he is doing well. She said the incident has made her consider a future job in the medical field.
“The family and I are both giving the glory to God. It was how it was supposed to be,” Eads said.
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