Of all the heroes to emerge during these difficult times, Yale lacrosse player Konrad Collins did not expect himself to be one of them. The sophomore midfielder was at home quarantining with his family in Oregon when he noticed something outside.
“Myself, my mom and my friend Sam were just standing in my kitchen, just chatting when we saw outside our window, a man had collapsed,” said Collins.
It was their neighbor and after they recognized the severity of the situation, all three sprung into action.
“I ran out there and I realized the man wasn’t breathing,” said Collins. “His eyes were open, he wasn’t conscious and he didn’t have a heartbeat. I figured the only thing to do at that point was CPR.”
Collins wasn’t formally trained in CPR at the time but he did remember stopping at a Red Cross booth at Yale’s Cross Campus last Spring.
“I just had a brief conversation with the people running the booth about the procedure and I don’t know how but in that moment, I just remembered exact words from the conversation,” Collins said. “After about five minutes, he really gasped a full breath and by the time the paramedics got there, he was breathing consistently. The paramedics were able to fully revive him and he woke up.”
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The sheriff who arrived with the medical personnel made sure to tell Collins that he had saved the man’s life.
“Right off the bat I think I felt immense pride,” said Collins. “However, the more I think about it, the more I realize that it was just right place, right time with the right training.”
The neighbor who Collins helped revive is now out of the ICU and recovering in the hospital. Konrad has since enrolled in more formal CPR training.
“I would just encourage everyone to kind of take this time away and try to make the most of it and if that means taking an hour to learn the procedure of CPR, I would absolutely encourage that,” Collins said. “You never know when you’re going to use it.”
