Staff used AED on collapsed teen girl

WAYLAND, Mich. (WOOD) - A 14-year-old Wayland Union Middle School student who collapsed on Monday during gym class remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

She had been playing -- "nothing out of the ordinary," the school's assistant principal said -- when it happened. A teacher alerted the main office, students were taken out of the gym and administrators responded.

The principal determined that an automated external defibrillator (AED) was the right thing to use, administrators said, and the assistant principal brought it from the office.

The AED, which announces its instructions out loud, was applied, CPR was performed and 911 was called.

"It was very calm," principal Carolyn Whyte told 24 Hour News 8. "But at the same time, it was very hectic. We were trying to make sure that we were making decisions and doing things as quickly as possible but at the same time, because of the number of people involved, we knew that we need to maintain control -- and everyone did."

The death in March of Fennville High School student Wes Leonard heightened awareness about in-school emergency response and the presence of AEDs. The foundation that bears his name wants to see a mandate for well-maintained AEDs in schools, among other things.

Before the tragedy, the Wayland district installed an AED in each of its schools, administrators said, with more than one in place at the high school. The athletic trainer carries a mobile unit.

Some school employees were trained on defibrillators last year. More went through training at the beginning of the current school year and now, roughly 60 people on staff are trained, Superintendent Norman Taylor said.

"Whenever you go through any of those trainings, you hope that you never have to use it," said Teresa Fulk, middle school assistant principal and district technology director. "But we're definitely very grateful that we did have the training so that we knew exactly how to respond when the incident happened on Monday."

The training, of course, did not change the fact that responding to a collapsed 14-year-old girl is difficult.

"It was," Whyte said. "But knowing that she's in a great place and she's got great doctors and we're all pulling for her, I'm glad that we were able to give her the chance that she has and that was all a result of training and help from the locals (emergency responders) and the AED."

First responders arrived very quickly, she said.

The principal said that at least a dozen people played a role in the response, from making a phone call, to opening a door, to comforting staff.

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Online:

Wes Leonard Heart Team: An advocacy group that encourages adequate placement of AEDs in schools and other public facilities.