CPR That Saved Dad A Result Of Teen Wanting To Get Summer Tan
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NORTH TEXAS (CBS 11 NEWS) - A few months under the sun, by the water, sounded like one last relaxing summer before college, to Joseph Clayton. He'd never been a lifeguard before, but did the swim training, learned CPR, and started work— while also helping his family move from Argyle back to Dallas.
During the move, as Clayton was driving, he turned down the music. It sounded like his father, Ron, was snoring in the back seat. They had just started driving. His brother thought maybe he was just joking. Then they realized, his dad wasn't snoring.
"Pulled over, and then my girlfriend Bailey, that's when she said to start CPR," Joseph said. "Took him out of the car, got him on the ground, and started doing it."
Ron Clayton had no history of heart problems. Doctors had declared him healthy days earlier. But he almost disappeared, right in front of his kids. Almost. "It worked," Ron said. "He did it right."
Two months later, Clayton is still recovering, but thanks to his son, and a seemingly random decision to be a lifeguard, he's still here "A week before, he was telling his mom he hoped he would never have to perform this lifesaving technique on anyone, and then a week later he has to do it on his dad."
Kristi Clayton knows that without CPR the outcome would have been different. "He would have never made it to the hospital. He would have never made it."
Clayton said he always considered himself as the one responsible for his children's lives, never imagining he said, they would be saving his. "I feel very blessed, by the grace of God, that I'm still here."
Joseph Clayton also called 911 right away when his father stopped breathing.
The family is working with the American Heart Association now, urging people never to wait to call for help, when they show the first signs of a heart attack.
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