HHS student helped to save a life

Hightstown High School student Tim Egan received the Youth Good Samaritan Award from the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey.

By: Marisa Maldonado
   HIGHTSTOWN — Tim Egan was walking home from work on a warm evening last June, when he heard a thud from the direction of the waterfall off Peddie Lake along South Main Street.
   A man in his 50s had collapsed on a nearby bench. Tim knew he had to act fast because he had just become certified in CPR through a class at Hightstown High School, where he was a sophomore. He called the police and checked the man’s neck for a pulse. When he felt none, he performed CPR.
   "I gave him two breaths and then 15 compressions (to the chest)," said Tim, who lives in Hightstown. "I went to give him the breaths again, and that’s when the police arrived."
   Although he has tried not to make a big deal about the incident since June, the American Red Cross of Central New Jersey recently rewarded the 16-year-old for his efforts with the Youth Good Samaritan Award.
   Hightstown High School, where Tim is now a junior, also was honored with the Red Cross’ Safe Schools award for educating the most students through Red Cross programming. Both awards, along with seven others honoring people throughout the region, were presented at a breakfast March 16 at the Trenton Marriott.
   All freshmen must take instructional swimming, and sophomores must pass a first aid and CPR class, said Lauren Sieczkowski, a health and physical education teacher at Hightstown. Both classes are sponsored by the Red Cross.
   "Hopefully nobody will have to use it," Ms. Sieczkowski said. "But if you’re in an emergency, you have the knowledge."
   One student she knew would be able to use those skills in an emergency was Tim, who she taught in CPR class a week before he performed the life-saving measure.
   For Tim the proximity in time came in handy, as he still had in his wallet the plastic mask used when giving a person breaths during CPR. Feeling the pulse, however, was different from what he had been used to in class.
   "Once I put my hands on him, my hands got cold," he said. "It felt really awkward."
   But Tim continued to help the man, checking for a heartbeat and to see if an object had become stuck in the man’s airway. He performed one round of CPR, but the police took over from there.
   "I know that he survived," Tim said, "because I saw him get up."
   Hightstown police told Tim that the man had suffered a heart attack from low blood sugar, possibly acquired from consuming too much alcohol, he said.
   Although he said he was "shaking" after performing CPR, Tim remained calm through the matter and in the weeks afterward.
   "It’s been awhile since it happened," Tim said. "Afterward I thought nothing of it. I was just doing what I was supposed to do. I wasn’t running around trying to say, ‘I performed CPR.’"
   CPR classes taken by Tim and other Hightstown students are not the only Red Cross offerings at the school. Between 300 and 375 students are involved in the school’s Red Cross Club, which holds a variety of activities from blood drives, teaching elementary school students swimming skills to throwing a holiday party for about 180 underprivileged children every year.
   Each student must donate six cans of food as dues.
   "The kids have fun," said Ms. Sieczkowski, who is one of the club’s nine advisers. "They feel good about doing things for other people."
   Tim, who plans to keep his CPR certification renewed, said every school should offer first aid and CPR classes. He said the information will come in handy if anyone ever chokes or passes out at the restaurant where he works, Theo’s Lakeside Tavern.
   "In case of an emergency, students should know what to do," Tim said. "Because there’s so many of us."