‘We thank God’: Teen, family praise the NC high school staff that saved his life
Quick responses from a resource officer and nurse saved the life of a 17-year-old North Carolina high school student after the teen suffered a cardiac episode last week, the Union County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday.
Sheriff’s Deputy Baucom saw Matthew Carter collapse at Piedmont High School in Monroe, the Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. Baucom and school nurse Tracy Hamilton checked Matthew and found he had no pulse and wasn’t breathing.
Baucom and Hamilton administered CPR and applied an automated external defibrillator, the Sheriff’s Office said. Matthew underwent three rounds of chest compressions and rescue breathing.
Matthew’s pulse returned and he started to breathe again, the Sheriff’s Office said. Union EMS arrived and took Matthew to a hospital for further medical treatment.
On Thursday, Matthew and his family returned to school to thank those who helped save his life.
Matthews is recovering well and his regaining his strength, his parents said.
“Matthew was at the right place for this to happen and was surrounded by a team of people who saved his life,” his parents told the Sheriff’s Office. “We thank God that Piedmont High School staff and the SRO were here because without them our son would not be alive”.
Sheriff Eddie Cathey commended the actions taken by Baucom, Hamilton and others to help Matthew.
“There is no doubt in my mind that without this team effort, Matthew would not be with us today,” Cathey said.
This story was originally published December 17, 2021 at 11:40 AM with the headline "‘We thank God’: Teen, family praise the NC high school staff that saved his life."
