Kylee Shea, 12-Year-Old Whose Heart Stopped During School, Miraculously Saved By Teachers

Because of two heroic and quick-thinking teachers, 12-year-old Kylee Shea is alive today and feeling great.

On September 26, the seventh-grader from Texas became short of breath then collapsed in the hallway of her school. Surrounding students quickly grabbed gym teachers Kristen Goodgion and Brent Reese for help.

"While Reese performed CPR, Goodgion fetched the school’s automatic external defibrillator (AED). They used the machine’s paddles to kick-start Kylee’s heart in a dramatic rescue caught on the school’s surveillance cameras," the "Today" show reports.

Goodgion says she and Reese relied on their CPR and AED training, though they had never actually used the paddles in a real emergency situation before. After Reese performed CPR, the machine told them to shock, so Reese went ahead.

A sigh of relief -- it worked. Within moments, emergency personnel airlifted Shea to the hospital. Doctors discovered a previously undetected heart condition and gave her a pacemaker. Her mom, Sheryl Shea, says the diagnosis came as a surprise. Kylee had recently been cleared with a physical for a strength and conditioning class, and there is no family history.

According to her doctors, if the teachers had responded just 30 seconds later, "Kylee would have had just a 3 percent chance of surviving her episode of heart arrhythmia, and only a 1 percent chance of surviving without brain damage."

Her parents expressed their gratitude to Goodgion and Reese on "Today" this morning. Her mom is also thankful that the state of Texas requires AEDs be placed in all schools. She believes that rule should be universal because without it, her daughter might not be alive today.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story noted that Reese was afraid the paddles would kill her.

Comments

[Joan Bogorae]

09:44 AM on 10/11/2011

Great job from those 2 teachers.They deserve to be recognized.I hope the girl stays well.

[gsandersjr]

07:18 AM on 10/11/2011

If it was in CA the teachers, school, district, city, etc may have been sued by the parents, ACLU or anyone who may have felt "offended".........but in reality, great job teachers.

[Sonny Bright]

06:36 AM on 10/11/2011

somebody should sent this to ohio governor kasich he is trying to put the screws to teachers what if that was his child he would sing another song those 2 are awesome for saving that little ladys life

[dkmkc2000]

06:21 AM on 10/11/2011

First Aid and CPR is a must for all who work with children, it saves lives! AED's are great!

[james9995]

03:40 AM on 10/11/2011

If one comes across a person not breathing ... call 911 or have someone call 911 ... two rescue breaths ... 32 chest compressions ... two rescue breaths ... 32 chest copressions etc, keeping the blood flowing to the brain is very important, until medical personnel show up ... If AED is available follow the instructions ... I work for Corrections and we get annual training for first aid and CPR! Havent had to use it yet ... but having the basic training is a good thing ... could save a life some day. Universal precautions are a must ...

[Huffy Poster 7]

02:51 AM on 10/11/2011

That's one small thing I'm pleased about with our Texas school system. Defibrillators in schools have already saved many lives. It was a kid collapsing at our local high school that led to it becoming law in Texas. It should be a federal law.

[mrshep]

02:25 AM on 10/11/2011

All schools should have a defibrillator and be required to have at least two people trained in CPR

[wesdfs]

02:09 AM on 10/11/2011

good job its nice to hear some good news for a change

[Ronald Ferreira]

01:39 AM on 10/11/2011

such a beautiful girl love her braces and glasses hope she makes it alright wish had that when had my violant heart attack

[Arlene Harrison]

01:33 AM on 10/11/2011

My Daughter was 11 when she told me she was short of breathe after school one day. The next day she was being airlifted to Childrens Hospital in Ca. And now has an ICD . She also had no heart history. I Carry a defibrillator with us to all sporting events and everywhere my children are. You never know when you will need not just for us but for anyone. The cost is nothing when you are saving a life. In Ca. they are not required in Schools only High Schools. We need new laws this is happening more than we know.

[sjj734]

01:11 AM on 10/11/2011

Let's see, a defibrillator in the school, another one of those pesky government regulations. Teachers trained in CPR and AED, but of course they are just overpaid coddled union thugs.

There are so many requirements and training that teachers have to meet, but yet many think we should pay them the same as a Walmart greeter.

[leavesbound]

01:28 AM on 10/11/2011

I don't mean to belittle the accomplishments of these two teachers. What they did is nothing short of heroic. But I would like to put their training into perspective. I am on the first aid team in the factory where I work. Part of our training is how to do exactly what these teachers did. The training is fairly simple and I could show you how to do this in 15 minutes. From there you practice on a mannequin for a couple of hours and that's it. You could learn this. My 12 year old nephew could learn this. I could teach a 7 year old to do this. I would recommend they don't just have the teachers trained but also train all the students as well. I tiny bit of knowledge and training can have an immense affect. My point is I don't get any extra pay for going through the training and I have never gotten any extra pay for any of the people I have treated over the years. Teachers may well be underpaid for other reasons but generally there is NO justification for giving teachers a raise or any additional consideration just for learning how to do this. Though I think both of these teachers ought to get a big bonus.

[Elizabeth Millican]

01:42 AM on 10/11/2011

You do mean to belittle their accomplishment or else you would not make that comment. You are a petty person.
Teachers are underpaid. They are given little respect and people like you make this even worse.
I am not a teacher. I respect them, but I could not do what they do, and from what I read in your comment.. Neither could you.

[Arlene Harrison]

01:48 AM on 10/11/2011

Did you know that you don't have to have CPR training to be a teacher only the 1st 2 years they are hired. After that its up to them to renew at least in Ca. Only P.E. teachers have to . Anyone can use a defib. it talks to you and gives instructions it actually will pick up a pulse if there is one. you put the pads and when you have them in place you push a button with a heart and it shocks that simple. I think anyone that works with our children should have some training.

[Paul Kopacko]

01:39 AM on 10/11/2011

No people do not think you should be paid so poorly. However, if you are to paid handsomely, you should also be accountable to the parents and the students you teach of at least providing a decent education. Performing CPR and using an AED are not indicators of how effective a teacher you are and are not pertinent to the story. I work as an RN and have performed CPR on dozens of people over the years. I assure you the pay I recieve most likely pales in comparision to a school teacher with similiar years of experience. Is that fair? Since when has life ever been fair? Is it fair to the young girl that she have a congenital heart defect? Do we hear her whine about government regulations? And yes, some teachers are overpaid, coddled, union thugs who happen to know CPR. Many people in other union dominated positions are overpaid, coddled thugs also. If they are subject to monetary recompense funded wholey or in part by taxpayer monies and those same taxpayers are tired of footing the bill, too bad for the union employees. Get over yourself. If you don't like the uncertainy, quit the union and get a different job.

[vegaschica88]

12:58 AM on 10/11/2011

O that is faantastic, I wonder if that was their first time actually having to do CPR and pulling out their defib. It is good that they keep them trained.

[leavesbound]

01:30 AM on 10/11/2011

Yes it says this in the article

[cqdeed]

12:41 AM on 10/11/2011

Bravo Zulu Teachers.

[tgk642]

03:37 AM on 10/11/2011

Having heard that statement since I left working at Fedex!

[alee513]

12:40 AM on 10/11/2011

Good job, students and teachers. Fortunately the students were not the kind who stood looking at the victim and snapping pictures rather than going for help.

[GOODDOC1]

12:43 AM on 10/11/2011

Are you kidding? Adults do that!

[turismofighter27]

12:33 AM on 10/11/2011

This is an amazing story. It's a shame that our government is getting rid of all of our teachers because I am pretty sure there are more heroes that could be around our nations children.