NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Marriage can be a long road of good times and tough times. There are moments of joy and moments of grief. One Murfreesboro couple dealt with sickness and is enjoying life together in health.
Mark and Lerinda Pierce have known each other since they were kids. Soon they will be celebrating 44 years together.
"It's always the better for worse," Mark said.
Last summer, they experienced some of life's worst. Lerinda went into Cardiac Arrest.
"Went to sleep and then the next thing I know I'm asking as I'm intubated what happened," Lerinda said.
Mark woke up that night because of a bad knee.
"We are people of faith and I do believe at that point God woke me up using that knee," Mark said.
He called 911, got Lerinda on the floor and started doing compressions. Paramedics arrived and applied an AED.
Thanks to Mark's CPR training, the medical care from the first responders and Ascension Saint Thomas Rutherford the happy couple was able to stay together.
"Currently, about 9 in 10 people who havecardiac arrestoutside the hospital die. But CPR can help improve those odds. If it is performed in the first few minutes of cardiac arrest, CPR can double or triple a person’s chance of survival," the CDC's website said.
The CDC said you also do not need formal training to perform CPR.
- Call 9-1-1 right away. If another bystander is nearby, save time by asking that person to call 9-1-1 and look for an automated external defibrillator (AED) while you begin CPR. AEDs are portable machines that can electrically shock the heart and cause it to start beating again.
- Give CPR. Push down hard and fast in the center of the chest at a rate of 100 to 120 pushes a minute. Let the chest come back up to its normal position after each push. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends timing your pushes to the beat of the song “Stayin’ Alive.” This method of CPR is called “hands-only” and does not involve breathing into the person’s mouth.
- Continue giving CPR until medical professionals arrive or until a person with formal CPR training can take over.
Days later Mark had to use his CPR skills after Lerinda went into Cardiac Arrest again.
Lerinda did not really have a history of something like this, she now has an implanted defibrillator.
"I am thankful for where I am today," Lerinda said.
For more information on CPR, AED and more training you can find that here.
