This story's ending never gets old: Another life was saved because of an Automated External Defibrillator and a speedy response by NYSUT members.

Before May 2 became "an incredible day and a miracle," as Canandaigua Teachers Association member Shelley Sossong later called it, it was a morning for working on writing skills.

Sossong's fifth-graders in the Finger Lakes school silently worked on their essays when she noticed one of her students slowly slumping out of his seat.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my student tipping," Sossong recounted.

Fortunately, he landed on a pile of foam mats instead of the hard floor. When Sossong rushed to his side, the boy was gulping for air.

Aware that he had a heart condition, Sossong knew she needed help - fast. She sent students running in all directions to assemble members of the school's emergency response team, which included school nurse Cecelia Munn.

Canandaigua Elementary has a volunteer group of about a dozen staffers trained to cope with disasters.

"Shelley, the initial responder, was on her game," Munn said. "She immediately sensed that something was really wrong." Also helping in the crisis were teachers Bruce Hawkins and Dick Valvano.

When help arrived, the student's breathing had stopped and he had no pulse. Munn said the chances of surviving those conditions are slim.

The response team shocked him with the school's AED. It temporarily revived his normal rhythm. But his heart failed a second time.

The defibrillator signaled for another shock. The emergency team administered it and kept the boy stable until the Emergency Medical Services unit arrived.

2002 law

AEDs became mandatory in New York schools with a 2002 state law that NYSUT lobbied for with Port Jervis TA member Rachel Moyer.

Her 15-year-old son, Greg, died during a high school basketball game just across the border in Pennsylvania.

Moyer and NYSUT leaders believe a defibrillator could have saved Greg's life.

"Even if an AED is only used once, that's enough," Sossong said. "We (Canandaigua schools) have (the defibrillators), but you never really think you are going to use them on a child."

While it is best to have trained professionals operate the defibrillators, Munn said, they are designed to be used by someone with no experience.

"It has an automated voice that directs you and leads the rhythm and tells you when to initiate CPR or when to shock," Munn explained. "The commands are very simple so that anyone can use it."

The training is one thing; an actual emergency is another. "If you've never done it before, it is totally different when it is a real person," Munn said.

She said a nurse's expertise is valuable to help manage volunteers through a crisis - and make tough decisions.

"When school nurses enter the room, they have been trained to make an assessment and make it quickly," Munn stated.

New York, she said, needs to consider mandating a school nurse in every school building.

As it did with defibrillators, NYSUT continues to press state lawmakers for approval of that mandate.

- Andrew Waite