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Teacher Saves Lady's Life With CPR, Gets The Bird In Return
By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 15, 2012
Modified Mar 15, 2012
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Mar 15, 2012
Modified Mar 15, 2012
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Oh, New York, never change. In a very Brooklyn feel-good story a school teacher on her lunch break used her CPR skills to help save a woman suspected of overdosing on drugs—only to be thanked with the woman's middle finger.
Yesterday Cassandra Byrd-Scolaro, a 34-year-old fourth-grade teacher at PS 17, stopped by the S&B Restaurant in Williamsburg to pick up a chicken Caesar wrap for lunch. While she was waiting she heard a commotion as people tried to figure out why a woman had been in the bathroom, with the water running, for so long. Eventually a waitress got the bathroom door open and found a 25-year-old woman sprawled on the floor. Byrd-Scolaro jumped to action.
"She looked dead," she recalls. "She had no pulse. I immediately began giving her compressions." Those compressions saved the woman's life and when EMS arrived three minutes later the woman was once again breathing. "We heard a gurgling," the teacher recalled. "She was coming back."
Not that the woman seemed happy about it. Upon waking she promptly gave her savior the finger. "I didn't take offense to what she did and if I had to do it again, I would have done what I did again," the teacher says now. Police suspect the woman had overdosed on drugs—a needle and spoon were later found in the bathroom.
After the incident Byrd-Scolaro grabbed her lunch (comped by the restaurant) and went back to work. But news of her heroics quickly spread and the 10-year schools veteran has since been publicly praised by both her her principal and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott for her quickness under pressure. “It’s totally in character with the person that she is—somebody who cares about others,” her principal told reporters.
Meanwhile, beyond just being a feel-good story, this is a great reminder of the importance in knowing CPR. It really isn't hard and it really can make a difference. If you are interested in learning this basic skill, the FDNY offers free training sessions and the Red Cross has lots of courses as well.
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cassandra byrd-scolaro
cpr
drugs
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Garth Johnston
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