By C1 Staff
WINNEBAGO COUNTY, Ill. — Four detention officers are being hailed as heroes after saving the life of a 16-year-old juvenile inmate.
The rescuers included a nurse and three detention officers, all of whom were given CPR training, according to WREX. The boy had collapsed on a basketball court after finishing a game.
At first they thought the teen was having a seizure, but they quickly realized they were dealing with something much worse: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
“We receive a lot of training here, we definitely go through CPR training, there’s a lot of scenarios that occur here just on a daily basis that are not normal. But having a medical problem like this was definitely not expected,” Detention Officer Phillip Graceffa told WREX.
They called 911 and began CPR, running for an AED. The officers shocked the boy once, and then again once first responders arrived. Then the first responders took the boy to the hospital, where he spent the next few weeks in an induced coma.
Though the officers were not able to meet the young man they saved, they have stayed in touch. All four employees were presented with a heroism award, according to WREX.
“The award doesn’t mean much compared to knowing that child lived,” said Detention Officer Sean Koenig.
The young man made a full recovery and had a pacemaker implanted into his chest.