“Awake!” Readers Save Lives

IN ITS issue of February 8, 1979, “Awake!” carried a series of articles about the heart. One of the articles discussed how to administer external heart massage and artificial respiration (cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR for short) to an unconscious person. A group of “Awake!” readers in Italy report that this information enabled them to save someone’s life. One of the rescuers explains what happened:

“That day a group of Jehovah’s Witnesses, including myself, decided to go for a walk in the mountains. . . . It was a lovely day and the summer heat could be felt even under the shade of the towering pine trees on the mountainside. We all agreed on the idea of cooling off in the swimming pool of a nearby Sports Centre, and there we let ourselves go, diving into the pool and swimming around. . . .

“All of a sudden tragedy struck! A middle-aged man, with a child of five or six in his arms, was also in the pool. At a certain point, the man unwittingly left the area where nonswimmers are advised to stay. It was a critical moment. Realizing he was in difficulty, the man summoned the last ounce of his strength to throw the child to shallow water, and then he sank out of sight to the bottom of the pool. He really seemed lost. In the general lull that followed, a sturdy member of our group dived in to save the unfortunate bather. We finally succeeded in dragging him out of the water. . . . Those standing around thought that he was dead and that there was no use in trying to revive him. In fact, he was not breathing and his heart was not beating. While all present felt like giving way to desperation, one of our company cried out, ‘“Awake!” suggested giving artificial respiration in these cases!’ Immediately the man was laid out by our robust friend who . . . began to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation according to the instructions he remembered reading in ‘Awake!’ of February 8, 1979. Still, the man’s heart did not start beating. So another member of the group started pressing with determination on the dying man’s chest. What joy and unimaginable emotion were felt when we saw the man’s face begin to take on a normal color. His eyes became expressive once again and he could speak! . . .

“What would have happened if no one had known what to do in the emergency can only be imagined. I do not wish to say that ‘Awake!’ is the only magazine giving such useful suggestions, but I do wish to emphasize its characteristic manner of explaining things simply and in a practical way.”

A similar experience was had by an “Awake!” reader in Ohio. She writes:

“I just wanted to thank you for the article about drowning that was in ‘Awake!’ . . . Today, my nephew almost drowned in my swimming pool. The first thing I thought about was the article. It brought out the value of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, even when [the situation] looks hopeless. I thought my nephew was dead, but I decided to give mouth-to-mouth resuscitation until help arrived. Truly, if I hadn’t read the article, I would not have been able to help him.

“I just wanted to thank you because you helped me save a life today.”