Nearly 30 years ago a young Scott Hunt sat with his Boy Scout Troop as they watched the instructor show them how to perform CPR. Like most Scouts at his age, they were mesmerized by this simple, yet effective means of saving someone’s life if they happened to suffer a heart attack.
Many years have passed since that Merit Badge training course and though Scott has never taken a “refresher” course or become certified, training from decades ago flooded his mind as the unthinkable happened one day at work in 2013.
“When Kent Carothers collapsed we were in the warehouse and I had my back turned to him. Initially when I turned around I thought that he had just tripped and fallen to the ground. But after he did not respond to me asking him if he was okay, myself and another co-worker turned him over. That is when I knew he was in need of assistance.”
“I asked my co-worker to call 911. I yelled and asked for someone else to come assist me in performing CPR. Initially I think there were a lot of the employees that were in shock and did not know how to react. After an eternity – but was more likely just a few seconds – Gavin Fenton came in and started helping me administer CPR. Though neither of us were certified, we knew that we had to do something to save Kent. Sitting around and doing nothing was simply not an option.”
“We performed CPR for about 5-7 minutes until the paramedics arrived. We were exhausted and had no idea if our efforts would be enough to save Kent. But at the very least, we knew that we had done something to help.”
Today, Kent Carothers is back at work thanks to the bravery of his best friends Scott and Gavin. They still reminisce about that cold November day that seemed like it would go on just like any other. But a call for help and the desire to step into action turned this typical day into one that none of these gentlemen will ever be able to forget!
Thank you Scott and Gavin for your quick thinking and for illustrating the importance of knowing CPR techniques. For those of you who do not know CPR or would like a quick refresher, please visit the here!
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