Redmond Junior High teachers Chris Broderick and Mike Thomas, football coach Scott Hagerman and principal Prato Barone will be honored this week by the American Red Cross Serving King & Kitsap Counties as 2009 “Everyday Heroes.”
The 13th annual heroes breakfast, “Everyday People, Everyday Heroes” is sponsored by Costco Wholesale and takes place from 7:30-9 a.m. Thursday, March 26 at the Washington State Convention Center in downtown Seattle. All proceeds will support disaster relief efforts in King County.
Philips Healthcare sponsors the Adult Good Samaritan award.
Earlier this school year, a 13-year-old student, Levi Pocza, suffered sudden cardiac arrest while in P.E. class at Redmond Junior High. Through the swift and level-headed actions of Broderick, Thomas, Hagerman and Barone, the use of an on-site AED (automated external defibrillator) and follow-through efforts by the Redmond Police and Fire Departments, Levi’s life was saved and he has made a full recovery.
When asked why he thinks this story should be highlighted, Hagerman said, “without the shock, nothing else would have saved his life… [so] thinking that someone else might have to go through this, that is enough for me to be willing to highlight the importance of having an AED on-site.”
Barone summed it up perfectly when he said “we gave Levi the best chance of survival.”
The dramatic rescue of Levi Pocza at Redmond Junior High sparked a three-part series about AEDs in schools, which ran in the Redmond Reporter on Saturday, Nov. 15, Saturday, Nov. 22 and Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2008.
