by Kevin Burton
Then Apostle Paul said better than I ever will:
“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Phil. 4:8 KJV).
I often mention this verse as I post stories from the Good News Network, or just good news that I find elsewhere.
When I was a full-time newsman I defended our newspaper’s tendency to feature bad news above the good. I still think we had the right balance, but I can also see the need to rinse your mind once in a while.
Don’t stick your head in the sand, but don’t stick your head in the toilet either. Don’t be naïve but don’t dwell only on the negative either.
It may not seem like it, but good news is still part of our daily reality. And today’s good news is of the life saving variety. Two people taking action, making an immediate difference.
Our first story was written by Nathan Frederick for GNN:
Johnette Wilmot learned CPR when she was 17 years old and never needed it in the 40 years since.
But, recently, when a 15-year-old went into cardiac arrest during a baseball practice, Wilmot remembered everything as if she had been trained yesterday.
Evan Tucker had just finished his freshman baseball season at Pinson Valley High School in Alabama and was trying out for a travel team when he collapsed on the field.
His mother, Samantha, thought he had been hit by a ball. Someone else thought he was having a seizure. The reality was much worse—it was cardiac arrest.
That’s when Wilmot, who was there for her own son’s tryout, sprinted toward Tucker’s side.
“I learned CPR in high school and I’ve never had to use it in 40 years. I just kept humming Stayin’ Alive,” she told WBRC News, referring to the famous Bee Gees song, which has the perfect beat for delivering chest compressions.
Wilmot performed CPR for about eight minutes before an ambulance arrived and Evan was taken to Children’s Hospital, where doctors had to shock his heart to restart its rhythm.
Evan’s condition eventually stabilized after a few days. If his physical therapy continues to progress, he should make a full recovery. A family friend set up a GoFundMe campaign to help raise money for the large hospital bills.
If you ask Evan’s mom, divine intervention deserves all the credit—and some long-remembered CPR too.
“Miracles happen,” Samantha said. “If it hadn’t been for Johnette… my son would not be here today.”
Our second story features a much younger hero, who knew what to do in an emergency It is credited to GNN staff:
Kyndal Bradley, at four years of age, knows how to use a phone to call her mother, but how to call 911, or even when to do so, has not been talked about.
So imagine the surprise of her mother and the teaching staff at a Tennessee daycare when, during a medical emergency, it was Kyndal who took action.
Witnesses say that the teacher at the daycare in Clarksville collapsed and suffered a seizure. She had been the only adult in the room, and while the rest of the class stood there confused, Kyndal ran to get help.
“I told the teacher,” Kyndal told local news. “I said the other teacher; she was sick.”
Paramedics on scene found out that the teacher had stopped breathing twice, and rushed her to the hospital where WSMV TV4 Nashville reports she is recovering.
Shortly after, the staff at the daycare arrived at the door of Taylor Moore, Kyndal’s mother for a deserved bit of show (off) and tell.
“They were like, ‘She’s our hero for the day,’ and I’m kind of looking like, what happened?” Moore said. “If she hadn’t have gone and got the assistance, this story could have gone a totally different way.”
“I never thought to introduce what to do if an emergency arises, so it was a shock to me to see that she knew exactly what to do in a situation like that,” Moore told WSMV over a videocall, with Kyndal in her arms smiling from ear to ear.
Page 7 