CNA Saves Her Dad's Life - Brie Salloum - CNA Heroes on CNA-TV
Channel: CNA TV - NAHCA Broadcasting Network
Date: 2019-06-15

Thank you to the Des Moines Register for initially printing this story.

Brie Salloum is an 18 year old who just graduated from Valley High School in West Des Moines, Iowa.  She enjoyed her classes, especially the advanced placement science classes, but her favorite was the CNA course that she completed.

Just over a month before graduation, in the early morning hours of April 2nd,  Brie was getting ready for school. Something didn’t sound right.  Weird noises echoed in the upstairs hallway. She compares the sounds to elongated snores, or deep, muffled gurgles.
Brie walked into her parents' bedroom and found her father, Ray, lying in bed and gasping for breath.

“His teeth were gritted, and he grimaced,” her mother, Lisa Salloum, said. “I could see we were losing him.”
What happened next, medical professionals have told the family, was the beginning of “a miracle.”

Ray was lying limp in his bed. Lisa yelled at Brie to dial 911.
She was about to until she saw that her mom was already on the phone. She also saw her mom trying to give her father CPR and realized she wasn’t doing it properly.
She jumped into action.
“I took the pillow out from under his head, had her move him down a little a bit so his head wouldn’t be on the headboard. Then I just started,” she said. “I was crying and yelling. I was scared that I was doing it wrong and he was just gone. Especially with CPR, you don’t get that instant gratification. It was just scary.”
“I just kept telling her to keep going,” her mom said.
Emergency medical services arrived about 3 minutes later, Brie said. Ray was rushed to a local hospital.
He was placed in a medically-induced coma and underwent hypothermia treatment in order to preserve brain activity.
Almost 24 hours after doctors had cooled him, Ray had an arrhythmia, which is the improper beating of the heart.
“They had to give him a defibrillator and shock him,” Brie said.
“He had literally died twice,” Lisa added. “Once, when EMTs (emergency medical technicians) arrived at home and shocked him after what Brie did, and once at the hospital. His doctor told him, ‘It wasn’t your time to go because you’ve died twice and you’ve come back.’
“They’re calling him a miracle.”
Ray remained in the intensive care unit for 10 days.
Brie said she is appreciative of the education she received at Valley, especially the CNA program.
“I’m really grateful it’s part of Valley,” Brie said. “I think it’s a good stepping stone for me to get my feet wet in the medical field. Before I was iffy. Now, I know I want to do this.”
Her dad appreciates the program, too.
“I’m grateful. I’m thankful,” he said. “It’s amazing because of the timeline: When she went into the CNA program, when she learned CPR, and when this happened to me. It’s just so all relatively close together.”
Please everyone join me in recognizing the heroic efforts of Brie Salloum, CNA Hero!

NAHCA CNA Membership $30/year
https://www.nahcaCNA.org/join

ONE CLICK is all it takes to subscribe to CNA-TV
https://www.youtube.com/user/NAHCACARES?sub_confirmation=1

#nahcaCNA #cnamembership #cnasmatter #nahcacnatv #cna #assistedlivingcaregiver #nursetech #homehealthaide #cnaeducation

Visit our website: nahcaCNA.org  https://goo.gl/MMVnv1  
FB: @NAHCA  https://goo.gl/77VXL2
Instagram:  @cna.life https://goo.gl/oAiCDY
Twitter: @NAHCA https://goo.gl/kWDwXQ
Pinterest: https://goo.gl/ZiFeVh