After this event, a good friend of mine reacted in-part by scheduling CPR/AED training. I did the same. Doing so pushed me beyond my comfort zone, but it was important to do.
CPR/AED training was empowering.
Then one day this past Spring while on my drive to work I came upon an elderly man who had fallen from his bicycle at the curb of an intersection. Nobody had yet noticed. I stopped my car and shouted for someone to call 911.
More to the point of the CPR training, I felt calm and comfortable addressing the heightened situation, checking for consciousness, pulse, and breathing in the short time before additional help arrived.
Nothing heroic, I promise, but as others who were far more qualified arrived, first an off-duty EMT, then a doctor, then a nurse, then someone who knew the gentleman, I became distinctly aware that for the brief time required to take a CPR training course, and for the generosity of the many who came to help, this man was given the chance he needed to be transported by ambulance to the hospital where his family was able to meet him and he received fully-qualified medical attention.
I write this with the hope that at least one other person steps forward, beyond that point of comfort, to be ready to help someone in their time of need."
Mario Incorvaia
Vice President of Operations
Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra