Metro Employee Puts CPR Training to Use
For Transmissions Utility Equipment Operator Juan Magana Jr., a routine water break with his crew very unexpectedly turned into a sudden life-saving call to action. Juan and the crew decided to take a break from an ongoing manhole rehabilitation job to get some refreshments at a nearby gas station where they were working for the day.
“We just happened to be at the right place, right time. I noticed there was a gentleman laying on the ground.” Reflects Magana Jr. “I thought he might’ve passed out but noticed he wasn’t moving so I asked if he was OK and got no response.” That is when he realized something was seriously wrong with the man.
“His eyes were rolled back, I checked for a pulse and didn’t feel one, he wasn’t breathing, and his hands were purple.” Magana Jr immediately started administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and told some nearby customers to call 9-1-1. Two other patrons and a nurse also jumped in to help.
“The nurse came by to disperse onlookers to give us room and said to keep going until the paramedics arrived.” Magana Jr would repeat a pattern of two chest compressions and two breaths and trade off with the other two people helping him administer CPR.
A Life Saved
Fortunately, within a few minutes, paramedics arrived on the scene and took over. “It felt like an hour, but it was probably five to ten minutes,” recalls Magana Jr. He stuck around for about 15 minutes after paramedics arrived and was informed that the man was now breathing on his own. According to Magna Jr., Narcan, a drug that has seen increased popularity as a life-saving medicine to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose was also applied to the man, but it was ineffective.
Magana Jr. learned CPR while serving in the US Army. He joined in 1994 and just recently ended his service last year as a reserve. While in the Army, he was a certified responder for CPR. “I never had to use it in the Army; that was the first time I ever had to apply it,” reflects Magana Jr.
Looking back on his heroic moment, he stresses the importance of learning how to administer CPR “Those few minutes helped save this guy, every second counts, so if you see a CPR training course, please take it! You never know when you’ll need it.”
Metro offers free CPR and First Aid Training to employees multiple times every year.