Texas high school students heroically jumped into action to help save their teacher who was suffering from an unexpected, life-threatening medical emergency.
Adam Compton, who teaches social studies at MacArthur High School in San Antonio, suddenly went into cardiac arrest while chaperoning an after-school skate club meetup on Nov. 7, 2024.
“I was skating real mellow that day, trying to save energy, be able to do some more tomorrow and what I remember is sitting down for a little bit,” Compton, 46, told KENS 5 News.
Teenagers in the club claimed Compton messed up a trick and started hyperventilating before he lost consciousness in front of his students.
Several students ran to notify the school’s athletic trainer Amanda Boyd as junior Aidan Anthony-Gonzalez and senior Steven Amaro, both trained in CPR, frantically searched for a defibrillator.
Boyd told the outlet that she couldn’t find a pulse on the educator and started performing CPR.
Amaro completed a training course on using the automated external defibrillator (AED) weeks before the incident.
“I kept saying, ‘Focus on my voice, Mr. Compton. Keep your eyes open. Come on, breathe,” Anthony-Gonzalez told KSAT.
Then, Boyd and Amaro placed the AED pads onto Compton and administered a shock.
“Apparently, that shock is what revived him,” Boyd revealed.
“I opened everything up, put the pads on him, and that’s when the paramedics came and I let them take over,” Amaro added. “I never thought I would have to do it in person because it’s something you don’t expect. And it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing that should never happen to anyone.”
Compton was rushed to a local hospital where doctors ruled that a genetic heart disorder caused the beloved educator to go into cardiac arrest.
Compton claimed he always thought it was just a heart murmur and is thankful the right people were in the right place at the right time.
“I’m still processing how slim the chances were,” Compton said.
Compton was eventually released from the hospital with a pacemaker and was able to return to school a week later.
He’s been at the high school for four years and teaches AP US History and World Geography, per the school’s website.
Texas is one-of-26 states across the US that are mandated to have an AED in its schools.
In Texas, each school district is required to have at least one AED on every campus as well as an employee who is trained on it for a student gathering, according to AED.com.
Students are also required to receive CPR training at least once in grades 7-12.