Nominated by Leah McNaul
Kelly has been called to equip our teaching staff with the knowledge and confidence to perform CPR if ever needed along with other lifesaving trainings. We had a staff member who had a heart attack at school. Kelly swiftly got to the scene and began performing CPR. She tirelessly performed CPR over and over again. In the process, she took charge of the scene and directed the staff on how to help. As she started to tire, I was able to assist her in keeping the beat of her compressions verbally as she kept her breath. She is humble and knew when to release power to others around her, knowing their skills and capabilities to assist and take over. That day I saw a life disappear from a body and leave a coldness behind in that hallway for more minutes than seemed possible to retrieve. And with the determination and dedication from our hero of a school nurse, I saw breaths and some color slowly return to that body. Kelly pushed life into that person over and over again. She continued to shock a beat into them with the AED that she had the school display just steps away until the paramedics arrived. Kelly was cool, calm, determined and incredibly confident in her skills that day. She saved a life that day. A life that got the chance to continue to walk through our halls and touch the lives of the students and staff that fill them. We are so blessed to have Kelly step up time and time again for various emergencies that arise and to help teach us to be first responders alongside her. Kelly is our school nurse and staff trainer, but foremost she is our friend and caretaker.
