Teen Swimmer Saves A Life

During swim practice in River Falls, Wisconsin, Becca Thomas, a 15-year-old trained lifeguard, noticed that there was something wrong with her teammate, Marissa Metzler, a 12-year-old in the lane next to her.

Becca Thomas (l) and her mom Shelley Thomas (r) outside of their home in Rollins, Wisconsin.

“There was a split second where my brain was saying ‘what’s going on, why isn’t she swimming?'” says Becca. What she didn’t know at the time was Marissa’s heart had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. After briefly thrashing around, Marissa’s body went limp and lifeless.

Becca responded in seconds. She swam over and, keeping Marissa’s head out of the water, brought her to edge of the pool where their coach helped pull Marissa out of the pool and onto the pool deck. There, Becca and a couple of her teammates tipped Marissa’s head upward to clear the airway. When they couldn’t find a pulse, 911 was immediately called.

Becca’s teammates, who are also CPR certified, sprang into action and together they began the life-saving skills necessary to keep Marissa alive. They started chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth breathing before grabbing an AED, (automated external defibrillator). The AED was administered to Marissa’s chest and delivered an electric shock to her heart twice to try and re-establish a heartbeat.  Becca took over handling chest compressions at that time and Marissa began to come to. Shortly after, the River Falls ambulance paramedics arrived and took over.

“In the moment I didn’t think about what was happening, I just did what I needed to do,” says Becca, “But then afterward, all I could think is ‘oh my goodness’ as it all sunk in.” She left the pool that night feeling tired both emotionally and physically. The following Sunday at church she was greeted with an overwhelming support of friends who congratulated her and were encouraged by what had happened. All the glory goes to God, says Becca, for her being in the right place at the right time.

Becca’s mom, Shelley Thomas, tears up when talking about her daughter’s heroic actions. “I’m so thankful that I had her do the Red Cross training.” Shelley takes CPR training every year and believes in passing this practice to future generations, just as her mom encouraged her. She hopes to inspire others with this story of her daughter’s bravery and wants them to know that, “CPR is good training to have, please take it.”

Becca was the youngest person, by many years she says, during her Red Cross lifeguard and CPR courses that previous summer. On her first day of class, when they went around the room doing introductions, many people stated that they were taking the training for their job or other reasons. “I was the only one who didn’t really have a reason to be there, other than the fact that my mom wanted me to take it. The training really isn’t that much busy work and you’re in the water almost every day practicing life-saving skills.” And because Becca was equipped with the skills necessary to save Marissa’s life, Marissa and Becca were able to visit each other recently and celebrate Marissa’s thirteenth birthday.

Many people agree that a CPR class can make the difference between life and death, including Denise Metzler, Marissa’s mom. When the Red Cross contacted Denise and told her that Becca has the potential to receive a American Red Cross Certificate of Merit Award, she cried and said “I just hope more people get CPR trained.”

Click here to find your local CPR training location today.

(Story and photo by Megan Barnes/American Red Cross)

Fearless and possibly foolish

Red Cross volunteer Claudia Kelly, on the  ground responding to Superstorm Sandy, sends us “Greetings from New York City”:

I’m halfway through my third week on this operation. I started in Mass Care Sheltering, and was sent to manage a shelter in Glen Cove, Nassau County, Long Island during and immediately after the storm. I had the chance to work with some fabulous people there. Our shelter population stayed small, ranging from 3 to 18 residents, but many community members stopped by during the day to charge their phones and to escape their powerless and increasingly cold homes. A group of Seniors joined us to eat one afternoon (this was a few days into my super effective all-cold-sandwich diet), and they had so much fun that several of them registered as shelter guests and proceeded to stay up all night laughing, chatting, and watching DVDs.

It’s a small Red Cross world: Claudia Kelly (right) bumped into Choua Yang (left), another disaster responder from Minnesota, while working at the Red Cross headquarters in New York City. (Seeing friends during disaster response is nice.)

Later, some shelter consolidation took place and I joined the staff of an 800-resident mega shelter at the Nassau County Community College just before Election Day. The state Board of Elections brought in absentee ballots for the residents, and Best Buy provided TVs, computers and WiFi hotspots so they could follow the election results. (Over at the staff shelter, we were all just exhausted and went right to sleep.) The mega shelter had many other amenities as well: a free laundry service, a medical clinic, a cell phone charging and loan station, and a supervised children’s play area. Nevertheless, a population that large is chaotic. Several residents were transferred to hospitals, including one in full labor who gave birth to a baby boy (+1 to shelter count since Mom was still registered!).

After two weeks in Sheltering I transferred to Client Casework, which is based out of Operation Headquarters at the New York City Red Cross office building.  I’ve been on Staten Island for the past few days representing the Red Cross at a FEMA Disaster Recovery Center near the shore.  There was a tremendous amount of damage there, and our presence seems meaningful as a validation of the incredible loss the community has suffered. I am being sent to a different area tomorrow, as I am among the fearless and possibly foolish few who are willing to take on New York City driving, and another team’s driver is having a day off. Traffic here is truly abysmal, as some of the tunnels remain closed, and many streets in Lower Manhattan are clogged with recovery trucks and trailers.  But that’s only half the fun: New York City drivers are an aggressive lot. I’m working on my swerve technique in hopes that defensive driving becomes an Olympic sport in Rio in 2016.

Hope to see you all soon back in Minnesota.

Best,
Claudia

Staffing Red Cross Disaster Response

Red Cross volunteer Kris Posey (right) helps get other volunteers, including Lori Olsson (left), quickly and safely out the door for disaster response.

Question: Who are those people working tirelessly to get Red Cross relief workers deployed to disaster locations, such as Superstorm Sandy? Answer: They’re Emergency Services Staffing volunteers!

In the case of our American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region, we’re  talking about volunteers Kris Posey, Susan Waananen & Cari McCollor. Although they’re often not working on the ground in affected disaster areas, they’re working hard to get those who are responding in the field out the door quickly and safely.

Emergency Services volunteers work behind the scenes 24/7 when disaster occurs. They’re in the Red Cross offices on weekends monitoring email, helping arrange training and processing volunteers. They’ve been doing this nearly every day since before Superstorm Sandy made landfall on the East Coast. Every day, they return calls and answer emails that come in from our 700+ volunteers across our Red Cross region.

Hey, Cari, we like that henna tattoo!

In addition, we’ve had staff services volunteers in the office these past few weeks learning all there is to know about national deployment.  Thank you Steve, Marcia, Lois, Bonnie, Barb, Jan & John. We’re building great capacity throughout our region.

Thank you to Emergency Services staffing volunteers. You help make our mission happen. And we love you for it!

P.S. Emergency Services staffing volunteers also deploy to disasters. Cari (pictured) is now on the East Coast working as part of the Red Cross field response to Superstorm Sandy. Return home happy and safe!

P.P.S. Question: Do you want to join our team? Answer: Yes, I do. I really really do 🙂

 

Field Photos: Sheldon Checks In From Sandy

Red Cross volunteers Sheldon Bruce and Lori Olsson deployed to Superstorm Sandy days ago–how many? (Too many to remember.) They drove a Red Cross emergency response truck 1,200 miles from Minnesota to New York and since then they’ve been busy handing out hot meals and relief supplies to people in devastated areas. We’re grateful for the work that Sheldon and Lori are doing. Here, through Sheldon’s eyes, we share with you a bit of what they’re experiencing.

A street after flood waters receded.
Families wait for meals and supplies from a Red Cross disaster relief truck.
Red Cross disaster relief workers at their temporary home-sweet-home accommodations.
Red Cross trucks waiting to refuel.
Beach front damage.
Clean out after the flood.
Loading Papa John’s.
Delivering clean up kits in affected neighborhoods.

Sandy Postcard From Choua

Greetings from Greater New York, Superstorm Sandy Aftermath Followed by Nor’easter, November 7, 2012

Hello from Greater New York,

I’ve been going out doing Disaster Assessment (DA). There are so many homes affected and or destroyed by the storm. DA is on hold right now due to the snow mix with rain. Based on the data that we collected, upper managements are planning to deliver supply of goodies to those affected areas. Yesterday, I went to eat with my team and our server asked where we were from. One of the teammates told her that we are with Red Cross and the server just broke down and cried. She was very grateful and happy that we were there for her community. She thanked us for leaving our families and friends to come help out.  It was such an amazing experience  with this disaster response so far. I am so happy and proud to be Red Crosser!!!

Thanks,
Choua

Choua Yang is one of 5,700 or so Red Cross disaster relief workers responding to Superstorm Sandy. (Around 50 are from Minnesota.) 90 percent of Red Cross responders are volunteers. You can help support Red Cross humanitarian disaster relief.

Stop Over And Make Someone Smile

Special Post From Red Cross Disaster Volunteer Dun Bui

Dun Bui (far right) and other Red Cross disaster responders at the shelter in Oceanport, New Jersey.

Red Cross volunteers from Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Minnesota and Wisconsin are working together at the shelter at Maple Place School in Oceanport, New Jersey.

Over 600 people have checked into the Red Cross shelter established at Maple Place School in Oceanport over the past 48 hours. Many have come in for a hot meal, chance to charge some electronic devices, file a claim with FEMA or just talk with a friendly volunteer.

A majority of the Red Cross volunteers are not even from this area or state. A husband and wife drove from Kentucky, one woman came in from Ohio, another from up-state New York while two others are from Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Volunteers are needed at the shelter to assist with serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also people are needed to help watch and supervise children and play games with senior citizens. The shelter is open 24 hours. And if you can spare an hour or so, stop over and make someone smile.

Thank you to Dun Bui and the other 5,400 Red Cross volunteers responding to the Superstorm Sandy disaster on the East Coast. Take care and return home safe and happy.

Happy 102nd Birthday Marguerite!

ImageIn 1910, when Marguerite Grams was born, the American Red Cross was still a fledgling organization of just 29 years. On November 2 Marguerite celebrated her 102nd birthday and friends from the Red Cross were there to join the party. Grams established the Virginia, Minn., office of the Northland Chapter in 1942 and served the organization for the next 35 years. More than 50 board members from the Northern Minnesota Region of the American Red Cross recently signed a t-shirt with best wishes for Grams. Northland Chapter board member Christina Hujanen and chapter Executive Director Judy Hanne Gonzalez presented her with the shirt, a card and a birthday cake during a meeting of the Soroptomists International Club of Virginia, Minn.

And The Heroes Are Off

We have in our Red Cross region fabulous people who leave behind their lives and loved  ones for days and days to help others in great need. Right now, twenty-five disaster relief workers from our Northern Minnesota region are responding to Superstorm Sandy. Twenty-two of those are volunteers. We’re incredibly grateful to have outstanding responders. We know that they’re doing great work. And, the heroes are off…

Sheldon Bruce, who will be gone for three weeks, says goodbye to his wife.

Lori Olsson brings snacks and cereal for the long drive ahead on a
Red Cross emergency response truck.

Steve Baltes (r) helps Jeff Skoog (l) and Diane Hofacker (c) map their deployment  destinations where they will provide Mass Care and Sheltering assistance.

Open shelters according to the Red Cross Hurricane App.

Disaster Mental Health volunteer Larry Larson (r) gets important deployment information from Emergency Staffing Manager Theresa Moerbitz.

Sheldon Bruce is ready to roll.

Lori Olsson waves goodbye.

To support American Red Cross disaster relief visit redcross.org, call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767) or text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Your gift enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, emotional support and other assistance to those affected. (Story by Lynette Nyman and Megan Barnes; photos by Megan Barnes/American Red Cross)

A Farm House Burns Down

The fire started in the night on October 5, 2012. Linda, her husband Tom, and their dog Rex were asleep in their home on the Cook family homestead in Somerset, Wisconsin. Rex woke first. He nudged Tom’s arm then Tom woke Linda. Their house was on fire. Linda saw flames going up a wall. She went for the fire extinguisher. It was empty or broken. The fire spread fast. The century-old house turned out to be a tinder box ready to burn. Linda saw Rex through the smoke. She followed him outside. Her feet were bare. She wore pajamas. She looked for Tom. Linda thought he was behind her. “I turned around and he wasn’t there.” He was inside, somewhere inside a house filled with flames and smoke. He was somewhere in the house where he was born and where he spent most of his nights.

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Linda met Tom at the old Stardust Room in Osceola, Wisconsin. “He went there every day. For our first date we went to the fair.” They married in 1974. “I said I’d never marry a trucker or a farmer and I married a man who was both.” Together, they raised five children. For years he worked as a local mechanic and farmed the Cook land with a horse-pulled tractor. Years earlier, in 1968, he lost a hand in a corn picker but he managed, choosing prosthesis for a working arm over a re-attached limp hand. He was no stranger to fire. A barn burned in 1991. Tom and Linda lost horses, cows, pigs, a dog and hundreds of hay bales. Linda baled hay too. “We worked side by side.”

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Tom died in the fire. Linda says he will be remembered as a caring, loving guy. “He loved everybody. He loved his horses.” Tom was known in the area, Linda says, for his horses. They were regulars in the local parade. “We’d get the horses and away we went!”

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During the funeral services, Tom’s ashes were held in a wooden box that his son Scott handmade. Farmers, truckers and others from around the area attended the services. Around 200 people paid their respects. Linda received hugs, many hugs. “My shoulders hurt from all the hugs.” Starting soon to rebuild her life, she wants to put a trailer on the farm. “I don’t want to leave the farm. Tom always said, if something happened to him, stay on the farm.” Red Cross emergency relief has helped to get her going. The Red Cross has been great, she says. “I didn’t know there was a Red Cross out here. I don’t even know how they got my name. I didn’t expect anybody.”

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Wherever she goes and however long it takes to recover, Linda plans to have her dog Rex by her side. “Rex got me out. He’s my hero.” Seven years go Rex was a puppy offered for free at a farm auction. Now he’s a hero to everyone. To all those–Rex, too–who save and comfort our neighbors during great times of need, we express our heartfelt gratitude.

Story and photos by Lynette Nyman/American Red Cross Northern Minnesota Region. Photo descriptions: (1) a baking pan survived the fire; (2) the remains of the Cook farm house; (3) Scott Cook’s handmade box for his dad’s ashes; (4) Red Cross nurse Vonnie Thomas hugs Linda Cook where she’s staying with family in New Prague, Minnesota; and (5) Rex, 7 years old, canine hero and beloved family member.

Gophers Bleed Maroon & Gold for the Red Cross

Katie Kranz congratulates Chuck Seymour on making his first blood donation. Both are University of Minnesota seniors and Homecoming Court Members. Photo credit: Megan Barnes/American Red Cross

The Golden Gophers turned out in spades for the Ninth Annual American Red Cross Homecoming Blood Drive at the University of Minnesota. Everyone—students, professors, and alumni came together to save lives.

For Chuck Seymour, a senior and Homecoming King Candidate, it was his first time donating blood (GO CHUCK!). With a lot of reluctance and slight fear of donating and needles, Chuck met Geoff Kaufmann, CEO of the American Red Cross North Central Blood Services Region, who led him through the entire donation process (GO GEOFF!).

Geoff explained that one whole blood donation typically can help save three lives. And with an average of 22-25 blood drives in Minnesota each day, this generates vital help to those who need the gift of life. “It’s so great that this generation is willing to donate,” said Geoff. “The older generation felt a dedication to supplying blood and a lot of these people aren’t able to anymore due to chronic diseases. So, it’s a great thing to see this generation step up and donate their time and blood. The University of Minnesota is a huge support to the American Red Cross and it’s always good to be here.”

To help ease fears, friendly student volunteers (GO GOPHERS!) wearing maroon & gold Legendary U Homecoming t-shirts created an inviting room filled with snacks and festive music for the donors. Gopher student volunteers helped care for people post donation by monitoring how they felt and offering juice, water and snacks. Their volunteer support showed that this generation of students is indeed Legendary.

Geoff Kaufmann comforts Kirby Schmidt while he donates blood during the University of Minnesota Legendary U blood drive with the American Red Cross. Photo credit: Megan Barnes/American Red Cross

Kirby Schmidt, another senior and Homecoming King Candidate, was proud to show his Gopher Pride by donating his 9th time (GO KIRBY!). He wants future University donors to know that it’s easy and anyone can do it. “I recommend eating a big bowl of Raisin Bran and drinking 3-4 glasses of water when starting your day of the donation.”

In all, approximately 125 volunteers and 220 potential donors participated, making this drive a major contributor and partner to this cause. This was done by including pre-registration for those on a tight schedule or quick registration for those who just happened to walk by and felt compelled to donate.

Click here to find a blood drive in your area.

M! I! N! N! E! S! O! T! A! MINNESOTA! MINNESOTA! YAAAAAY GOPHERS!

Story and photos by Megan Barnes/American Red Cross