2/7/2010 11:21:00 PM Lake Valley school staffers save co-worker's life
Sue Tone/Special to the Courier
Speech aide Cynthia Boutin, center, said she owes her life to the efforts of Nurse Kris Skorick, left, and Receiving Clerk LeOra Budin who used their CPR skills when Budin collapsed this past November.
By SUE TONE Special to the Courier
PRESCOTT VALLEY - Cynthia Boutin remembers printing out birthday cards for her students at Lake Valley Elementary School on Wednesday, Nov. 18. The speech pathologist aide stood up to get the cards off the desk behind her and, with no warning, her heart stopped beating and she fell to the floor.
Lake Valley Speech Pathologist Amanda Paffumi had left the room briefly to pick up a student.
"When I came back, she was laying face down on the floor here in the classroom," Paffumi said. "I called the office and told them to get the nurse and call 911."
The only student in the classroom at the time is severely disabled and was unaware of what was happening, she said.
LeOra Budin, receiving clerk, said she was in the office and could hear Paffumi on the phone with the secretary. She ran down the hall, collecting Nurse Kris Skorick along the way; they arrived to find Boutin unconscious.
"She was laying face down under the desk and I couldn't see. I flipped her over, and saw she was blue and in full cardiac arrest," Skorick said.
Budin said she and Skorick did not exchange a word, but in tandem, they began cardiopulmonary resuscitation, CPR, on their co-worker, yelling at Boutin the entire time, reminding her she had grandchildren and couldn't "leave" yet.
Skorick said she put into place all her CPR training - checking for breathing, heart rate, pulse - before initiating mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.
"You never want to do it, but wow, I know as a nurse, the chances of a positive outcome are really slim," Skorick said, adding that Boutin wasn't responding.
In fact, Boutin, 48, learned later that only 2 percent survive an incident of the type she had.
Rob Duplessis, firefighter with Central Yavapai Fire District, said the station got a call for a possible cardiac arrest. Prescott Valley Police Officer Matt Williams had arrived minutes before the firefighters.
"One of nurses, a teacher, and an officer were doing CPR," Duplessis said. "We took over from there. If it weren't for their efforts in starting CPR, it would have been a different outcome."
Emergency responders worked for about 45 minutes, using a defibrillator at one point to shock Boutin's heart into beating again, then they transported her to Yavapai Regional Medical Center East. Boutin said doctors told her she "coded" while on the table and they again used the paddles to start her heart.
Doctors had her transported by helicopter to YRMC West. During the ride she showed signs of severe brain damage. At the west campus, doctors lowered her body temperature to 84 degrees as part of hypothermic therapy.
"Because when you have an incident like that and the brain doesn't get oxygen, they need that time for the brain to recuperate so nothing has to work real hard. It allows the brain to heal," Boutin said.
She added that the procedure took about six hours to get her down to 84 degrees where she stayed for 24 hours, kept in a medicated induced coma. Then the doctors slowly brought her back out.
"They have magnificent techniques I never knew about," a grateful Boutin said.
Doctors installed an internal cardiac defibrillator, and when Boutin came out of the anesthesia, she said she finally remembered who she was, where she was, and to everyone's amazement, her long-term memory was totally intact.
"Here I am today, just walking and talking like nothing ever happened. It was a miracle that those girls did what they did," she said. "How do you repay something like that? No words, no amount of anything could repay that. Every day I see them and I hug them and thank them."
At this past Tuesday night's Humboldt Unified School District Governing Board meeting, Supt. Henry Schmitt and board members recognized the LVES staff and emergency personnel for their quick thinking and skills that saved a fellow worker from what could have been extensive brain damage or even death.
Boutin said her husband Denis never lost faith that she would pull through, in spite of doctors and nurses telling him not to get his hopes up. She also said the outpouring of support from the community has touched her deeply.
Although she has lived in Prescott Valley for five years, she said she hadn't really felt a part of it.
"When I woke up, they let people come see me. I had 18 people in my room. They just had to see me, because the last time they saw me, my face was purple and my tongue was black," Boutin said.
"They brought cards from the kids - I must have had more than 300 homemade cards from the kids. I realized they do love me," said Boutin, her voice breaking. "We are like a family over here."
Paffumi she was glad to have Boutin back at work when school started back in January. "It was a long six weeks without her," she said.
Principal Danny Brown was out of town at the time of the incident.
"I felt really good about the way my staff handled the situation," Brown said. Teachers kept students in the classrooms until emergency workers left the building.
"I guess miracles happen," the principal said.
Looking back, Boutin said she experienced many of the symptoms that fit the indicators of cardiomyopathy. The American Heart Association states "a person with restrictive cardiomyopathy often complains of being tired, may have swollen hands and feet, and may have difficulty breathing on exertion."
Boutin said she used to smoke and thought it was her lungs giving her problems. She almost stayed home that day, but it was Birthday Week and she wanted to make sure her students got their special cards.
Instead she received a special gift from her co-workers - the gift of life itself.
For goodness sakes 'Prescott EMT guy' what's up with non- believers being so closed minded and terrified of scripture? Besides, what did Jesus ever do to you? This is a story of miracles in deed which comes down from heaven above not from man or woman. Welcome back Boutin.
Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Article comment by:
G A
This is just another reason why I love this school so much. The school doesn't have all the resources or fancy equipment other schools within HUSD have, but what they do have is an amazing staff. The faculty, administration, & support staff at LVES go above and beyond in everything they do every single day. It paid off big this day. As a parent of children in this school, I can not begin to tell you how much I see this staff doing everyday to make the lives of the people in our community better. This human element makes this school a far richer education for the children in my opinion. Following this incident the PTO held a fund raiser to raise funds for a portable defibrillator. I commend Nurse Kris and Ms. Budin for their amazing strength and focus for remaining so calm when a friend was in dire need.
Posted: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Article comment by:
No name provided
Great story and a job well done. I think the school should invest in an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). If they had used one, maybe she would have had a pulse by the time EMS arrived. They are proven effective.
Posted: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Article comment by:
Prescott EMT Guy
Jesus saves, can you please just shut up? These staff members were remarkable, and CPR and modern medicine saves lives. Leave your ignorant beliefs out of this and give credit where it is due. Jesus and God have nothing to do with it. If those two staff members hadn't done what they did, she'd be dead. You really need a reality check. I think its amazing what they did, and i'm very happy to hear about this outcome. I wish her well in her recovery and I hope she's now under the care of a cardiologist monitoring this.
Posted: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Article comment by:
Just Saying
No, rescue breaths are still part of CPR if breaths are needed. 30 compressions and 2 breaths and start again for a total of 100 compressions per minute. Rescue breaths are optional if you feel your health may be jeopardized and a barrier device is not available. You are protected by a law in this event. Then it is appropriate to give compressions only.
Posted: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Article comment by:
Jesus Saves
Doctors & nurses can be so negative but understandably so because without God everything is doom and gloom. Yes, miracles do in deed happen each and every day. People don't save lives they just prolong the inevitable. Only Jesus Saves. Welcome back Boutin.
Posted: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Article comment by:
Wow
Amazing story. She is very lucky indeed to come back from this event. Good job! BTW mouth-to-mouth isn't part of CPR anymore, just chest compressions.
Posted: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
Article comment by:
alexander canyon
A lot of love at that Lake Valley School. LeOra Budin and Chris Skorick are about as nice a people as you could ask for.
