Woman credits recent CPR certification for saving father’s life

A Moline man is recovering after his daughter used CPR to save his life back in August. UnityPoint Health – Trinity says Joe and Erin Hammond often exercised together. One day, while resting after finishing an early-morning run with Erin, Joe suffered a heart attack and collapsed to the ground.

His heart stopped, and he wasn’t breathing. Erin rushed to his side and began performing CPR, which she had just learned a couple months before then through an internet class as part of her personal trainer certification.

A 911 dispatcher on the phone helped Erin stay calm as she used her training to perform chest compressions on her dad until help could arrive.

“I saw my dad out of the corner of my eye collapse and fall to the ground. I don’t know — I instantly knew this was a worst-case scenario,” said Erin. “It felt like an eternity, but it was only a few minutes. I’d just completed a CPR course two months before this happened to become a personal trainer. I really had a good knowledge of what to do, but I never imagined I would need it to save my dad’s life. I don’t think he would have made it if not for that training.”

Joe was rushed to the emergency room at Trinity Rock Island by EMTS from the fire department, where his condition was stabilized, and he was then moved to Trinity’s cardiac catheterization lab. “I was in bad shape,” said Joe. “The doctors said, if my daughter had not been there to perform CPR, I wouldn’t have made it. She means the world to me.”

Joe is sharing this story to raise awareness to the importance of learning CPR.

“We really hope my story will encourage others to become CPR certified. Erin’s CPR training saved my life,” said Hammond. “Get the training now, and you might just save someone’s life. You never know when you’ll need to use it.”

He and Erin have started walking together again and have become even closer through this experience.

“We’ll keep walking,” said Erin. “I can’t say enough about all the memories I have with my dad, and I’m so thankful to have him here to make more memories in the years to come.”

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Source: https://www.ourquadcities.com/news/local-news/qc-woman-credits-recent-cpr-certification-for-saving-fathers-life/