Class helps 13-year-old save her dad

By Brian Flinchpaugh, as published in the Hazelwood-Bridgeton Journal, North County Journal, Northeast County Journal, and the Northwest County Journal .

Thinking about it now, Kimberly Boyd gets the sour, slightly embarrassed look on her face that only a 13-year-oldcan.

"Whoa, I mean, most people don't have to give their dad CPR," she said last week. "It was kind of weird and awkward for me, but it was worth it."

Her father, Larry Boyd, 43, was sitting next to her, smiling at his daughter's discomfort. Because of her quick thinking last spring, Kimberly saved her father's life.

Yes, it was definitely worth it.

Kimberly, a Hazelwood Middle School seventh-grader, had been home one morning last April during spring break. It was early, and she was still asleep.

Suddenly, Kimberly was awakened when her father came into her room calling for help.

"My dad was having an asthma attack, and my mom was gone to work," she said.

Larry said he couldn't breathe. Asthma can close off lung passages and shut down breathing.

"It's like someone has got you in a vise," he said.

Larry's inhaler wasn't working and he was coughing. He walked into the living room, yelling, trying to get Kimberly up. He told her something was wrong and then collapsed on the floor.

Kimberly immediately called 911, and the emergency responder on the line asked her if she knew CPR.  Fortunately, she did.

CPR, or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, is a lifesaving technique used when breathing or heart function has stopped. CPR involves a combination of mouth-to-mouth breathing and chest compression that keeps blood flowing to the brain and other vital organs.

Accredited courses teach CPR as part of first aid training. Kimberly had just finished a course offered by the American Red Cross. Like her father, Kimberly said her siblings have asthma.

Her parents had enrolled her in the course so she would know what to do in case of an emergency when babysitting her two younger brothers. Now she was faced with her dad on the floor, waiting for an ambulance to arrive.

"I did (panic) afterward, but not at first," she said. "It was chin up, then hold the nose, breathe into the mouth two times, press three (chest compressions), check the pulse and repeat."

For a critical four to five minutes, Kimberly repeated the routine. Then paramedics arrived and took over.

Larry was hospitalized for a few days and recovered slowly.

"I was glad she was there to call 911, or I would have died for sure," he said.

Larry said they also were fortunate because the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District station on Shackelford Road was only about three blocks from their home in Florissant.

The incident didn't go unnoticed. Hazelwood School District officials and KMOV-TV Channel 4 recognized Kimberly with a "Do the Right Thing" award.

Her classmates thought it was cool, especially being on television, she said.

Kimberly said her classmates learn a little about CPR in health class, but they should get more training.

"I think everyone should know how to do it in case of an emergency," she said.

Has the experience changed Kimberly's thoughts about a career?

"An hour after it happened, I kind of wanted to be working in an ambulance," she said. "Then I thought, I'd have to see a lot of injured and dead people."

Becoming a marine biologist sounded better, she said.