LOWELL, Mich. (WOOD) Knowing what to do when someone needs CPR can save a life. On Mackinac Island last week, it did. One tourist is alive today thanks to teamwork, quick thinking, and the initiative of a teenage scout from Michigan.
As a Boy Scout, 14-year-old Kenny Recor learns to be prepared, but he never expected to put those lessons to the test. It was his second summer serving in the Scout Honor Guard in Mackinac Island, a role that involves giving directions, answering questions and raising the flags each day.
Near the end of one of his three-hour shifts near Fort Mackinac, he was alerted to a man who had unexpectedly collapsed with a heart attack. Recor moved without hesitation.
“I knew at that moment I was scared but I had to do something,” he said. “I felt my training kick in and I remembered that during a heart attack, time is the most important factor, so I knew I didn’t have time to worry and be scared.”
He alerted more people, made sure someone called 911 and immediately asked where the nearest automated external defibrillator (AED) was. He took off running up and down the hill to find it with his scout leader, despite having exercise-induced asthma.
“When I saw him, even though I was really starting to hurt, I knew he’s dying, and I need to get there so I used the rest of my energy to go up the hill,” he said.
Thanks to an off-duty nurse who was performing CPR on the man until responders came, the man never needed a shock.
Recor said his CPR training as a Boy Scout made a difference and he hopes more people learn the same.
“The situation I was put in could happen to anybody, and if people know how to do these things, I think a lot more lives can be saved,” he said.
On Sunday, Recor went to National Youth Leadership Camp, where he plans to build on the very skills he used on Tuesday.
“I’m going to learn even more leadership and hopefully that’ll help me in Boy Scouts and in life,” he said.
Recor became a Boy Scout because his dad was an Eagle Scout. His dad, Ken Recor, said he is proud of his son and the skills he has gained in the program.
“The scout motto is to be prepared, and Kenny was prepared and part of the scout law,” said Ken Recor. “The third point of the Scout Law is that the scout is helpful, and he was able to be helpful.”
