A Chicago-area doctor became an unexpected hero during a recent trip to Disney World when he quickly stepped in to save the life of a 17-year-old girl.
Jeffery Schiappa, a family medicine physician affiliated with Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox and Premier Suburban Medical Group, was visiting Disney World with his grandchildren when he noticed a concerning scene. A group of visibly distressed high school-aged girls caught his attention, and he soon realized that one girl was lying unresponsive on the ground.
“These little girls were over there, they looked like high schoolers, and they were crying,” Schiappa recalled. “I didn’t know what was happening, and then I see this girl on the ground, and she wasn’t responsive at that time.”
Schiappa immediately sprang into action, assisted by his son. They quickly retrieved an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to administer life-saving aid.
“My son ran and grabbed an AED. We put the paddles on her and went ahead and shocked her,” Schiappa explained.
The teen required two AED shocks to stabilize her condition enough for emergency medical personnel to arrive. Despite being briefly revived at the scene, the girl experienced two additional cardiac arrests en route to the hospital.
At the hospital, she was diagnosed with Long QT Interval, a serious heart condition characterized by irregular heartbeats that significantly increase the risk of sudden death.
“This young person would have not made it if we didn’t come in at that point,” Schiappa noted. “She may have gone off to college and never known.”
It is not clear where the incident happened at the Walt Disney World Resort, but thanks to Schiappa’s quick thinking and decisive action, the young woman received critical medical attention that likely saved her life.
Source: NBCChicago
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