It was like any other day at Fayette County High School – students moving from class to class and teachers preparing for the end of the school year – until the school’s nurse, Allison Garrett, got a call that would change everything.
Garrett arrived in a classroom to find a student face-down on the ground with irregular respirations – she knew something was wrong. The student’s pulse went from extremely weak to nonexistent – this student was in sudden cardiac arrest. Without hesitation, Garrett jumped right into action and began to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
The school’s resource officer, Officer Scott Israel, called Fayette County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) services while obtaining the school’s automated external defibrillator (AED). Using the AED, Garrett was able to restore the student’s heart back to a normal rhythm. Moments later, EMS arrived and the student was taken to the hospital for further treatment.
This is a moment that could have gone from bad to worse if it wasn’t for the quick-actions of nurse Garrett and Officer Israel. Garrett explains, “A situation like this can be paralyzing, but I am so thankful to have been the person in this position, prepared and equipped to do what we are called to do.”
At a faculty meeting, Garrett and Israel were honored by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s Project S.A.V.E for their heroic efforts with the Hero Award. The Project S.A.V.E program focuses on promoting and improving prevention of sudden cardiac arrest in children, adolescents and others in Georgia communities.
Garrett says, “Being recognized by Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta was humbling, but the greatest reward in all of this is seeing this student back at school finishing up the school year, surrounded by friends, smiling, laughing and enjoying a second chance at life. This -- this is priceless.”
Garrett was told by multiple people that she was irrational for leaving her job as an intensive care unit and emergency room nurse to become a school nurse. Yet, this one life-changing day proved why being a school nurse was the right career choice for her.
Considered a hero by many Garrett says, “I don’t see myself as hero. I’m just a passionate, well-prepared nurse who was placed in a tangible path of a student who would need me most! I am an FCHS alum, and it is my desire to return to this school to encourage students in whatever capacity I may be able to. My greatest goal has been to ensure each and every one of MY ‘tiger cubs’ (as I call them) makes it safely home to their loved ones each and every day.”
