Kids get hero training
Published: August 13, 2007
DEDHAM - When Michael Milmoe collapsed during a flag football game at the University of Vermont last September, none of the Dedham native’s fellow college students knew the best way to help him.
They ran for assistance, but by the time paramedics arrived to resuscitate Milmoe, who had suffered a heart attack, his brain had been deprived of oxygen for almost 15 minutes.
The 19-year-old is now blind and has limited mobility - though he is conscious - and he is undergoing therapy and rehabilitation. His mother, Kathy Milmoe, is hoping her son’s story will inspire young people to learn the techniques that could have saved him from permanent injury.
Yesterday she spoke to about 40 Dedham High School seniors learning cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, techniques in a certification course at the school.
“Knowledge is power and timing is critical. I want to bring CPR and first aid training to high schools,” Kathy Milmoe said yesterday. “They were all bright kids, but none of them knew what to do in that situation.”
Kathy Milmoe’s story inspired her friend, Sharon Marich, a physical therapist for Dedham public schools, to bring CPR training to the high school.
Marich contacted Fallon Ambulance Service, which provides emergency services for Dedham, and the company agreed to provide training for the senior class, normally $55 per person, for free.
“I was thinking what a shame that no one knew CPR,” Marich said. “I only wish I had done it earlier.”
Students participating in the four-hour certification program practiced chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth on dummies and learned how to operate defibrillators.
Marich said she supported making CPR training and certification mandatory at Dedham High School, something a few schools in the state have already done.
Marge Bohan, director of physical education at Dedham High School, said CPR training had been included in grade 8 gym classes between 1996 and 2001. But she said the provider of the training, Glover Deaconess Hospital in Needham, had discontinued it.
Paul Coakley, life support training coordinator for Fallon, said he had provided CPR training for several high schools in Eastern Massachusetts.
“It’s becoming contagious and that’s a good thing for us,” Coakley said. “The more people know about how to respond to emergencies, the more we can do to help them when we arrive.”
As he headed off to the gym to begin practicing chest compressions, senior Faried Beladi said he had already been certified in CPR once before, but that techniques had changed in the last few years and it was worth the time for a refresher.
“I learned a lot and it is important because you never know what situation you will find yourself in,” Beladi said.
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