Airman saves seizing Soldier

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Carolyn (Viss) Herrick
  • Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam Hawaii Public Affairs
JOINT BASE PEARL HARBOR-HICKAM, Hawaii (AFNS) --  An Airman assigned to the 647th Civil Engineer Squadron here performed self aid and buddy care on a Soldier suffering from a seizure April 15.

"I was at a benefit concert for a Bible study I attend," said Senior Airman Jesse Cornell. "We were sitting there, listening to the guy play and sing, and all of a sudden she started seizing pretty badly."

At first, he assumed there were medical personnel somewhere around, so he sat back, trying not to get in the way of anyone who might assist, he said. But no medics appeared.

"Someone laid her on her back," he said. "I realized right away that wasn't a good idea. She turned blue and quit moving, so I turned her on her side, hit her back to get her tongue out of her airway, got the saliva out of her throat and she started breathing again.

"Once I got her breathing again, she passed out completely in my arms," he said. "I rubbed her neck, and tried to keep her breathing."

Airman Cornell held her and coached her through breathing for about 15 minutes, until the emergency medical technicians arrived.

"The only thought in my mind was remembering what I was supposed to do," he said.

His brother, a firefighter and emergency medical technician, always passed a lot of first aid on to him, and his parents, who provide foster care, have also had CPR training, he said. This background, together with what he's learned in the military, prepared him to react quickly and instinctively in a life-threatening situation.

"I just was glad God put me there, because no one else really knew what to do," Airman Cornell said. "If I hadn't been there, they would have left her on her back."

He was glad when he received a follow-up e-mail from the director of the hospitality house saying the Soldier he saved was doing well, but no one he works with regularly was a bit surprised to learn he had been a hero to her.

"It was awesome to hear, but I know that's the type of person he is," said Tech. Sgt. Tiffany Griego, the 647th CES operations management inspection chief. "He's a hard worker, definitely one of the best Airmen I've ever worked with."