SYLACAUGA—Saving people’s lives in the water is a lifeguard’s job. But when a local man had a seizure across the street from the municipal pool Tuesday morning, Sylacauga lifeguard Anna Carden helped give the man CPR until paramedics arrived—a measure that could have saved the man’s life.Carden was inside the Sylacauga municipal pool lobby sweeping the floor that morning between 10:30 and 11 a.m. when she heard screaming coming from across the street.
“I just heard someone hollering ‘Breathe! Breathe!,’” she said. “I just took off to do what I needed to do.”
Carden, a lifeguard for more than 25 years, said she grabbed a pocket mask—used to help someone breathe—and her keys and took off through the back gate to the white house at 705 N. Anniston Avenue.
Lonnie White was having a seizure out on his front porch, which caused him to stop breathing. His wife Ann and brother Harold, who Ann called over, were trying to give him CPR before Anna arrived.
“He was in respiratory distress, and he stopped breathing for a minute,” Carden said.
She said after CPR was administered, Lonnie was able to talk and she asked him questions to measure his alertness.
“He had a slow, regular pulse, so I knew he would be OK,” she said.
Another lifeguard, Krystal Welch, who was on deck at the pool, finished the 911 call to paramedics, who arrived and transported Lonnie to Coosa Valley Medical Center, where he stayed for a few hours until his condition stabilized.
Ann said Lonnie has had seizures before, but “had not had one in a long time” before Tuesday’s incident. She said she did not know what to do.
“He just went blank and quit breathing,” she said. “I’m really pleased because Anna helped out. They were very nice, and she gave me a respirator to show me how to use it if it happens again.”
Lonnie said though he doesn’t remember the incident, he appreciates Carden coming over to help.
“She should receive an award,” Lonnie said. “(Those) ladies didn’t have to do that.”
But Carden said her action and the reward is just part of her job.
“We have a duty to act, whether we’re on the job or not,” Carden said. “That’s a call for help for us and that’s when the duty to act kicks in.”
“I just kind of think it’s what we’re called to do, whether we’re sitting up in the (lifeguard’s) chair or sweeping the lobby floor,” she added.
Ann said Carden has called to check on her husband several times since his seizure. Carden, who trains lifeguards at the pool through the American Red Cross, told Ann she would teach her how to administer CPR in case she needs to use it again.
“Even if you don’t think you need to know CPR, anyone can learn basic, life-saving skills,” Carden said.
