CPR, AED, cool heads prevail as three Sheppard members save a life

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Tonnette Thompson
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  It happened without warning... No complaint of dizziness, no swooning. No drooping eyelids, or words that slowly trailed off.

One moment he was awake and alert; the next found him slumping toward the hardwood floor, unconscious and not breathing.

For the next 10 minutes, the life of Special Agent Christopher Laywell hung in the balance. His survival would depend on two fellow agents from Sheppard's Office of Special Investigations, an airman, and an automated external defibrillator.

Moments before, OSI agents had just finished playing a basketball game, which served as their morning PT session. As their coworkers drifted off to prepare for the workday, Agent Laywell, Special Agent Fernando Martinez and Special Agent Frank Mosura decided to hang out on the basketball court a while more, talking and cooling down from the intense cardio workout.

Just on the other side of the enclosed basketball court wall, the rest of the Levitow Fitness Center patrons went about their workouts, and Senior Airman Christopher Coniglio, a fitness specialist with the 82nd Services Division, finished up his rounds and returned to the front desk.

Then, from the corner of his eye, the Airman caught an image through the window that served as a view of the court: two men crouching over a third who lay on the floor. One man checked for a pulse - and then quickly shook his head.

Airman Coniglio was already reaching for the phone when Agent Mosura yelled to him, "He's not responding, call 911!"

While giving the 911 operator the information - secretly praying he'd gotten the building number right - Airman Coniglio watched Agent Martinez perform chest compressions and thought of the AED, hanging on the opposite wall just a few feet away.

Meanwhile, Agent Laywell's heart was not responding to Agent Martinez's ministrations. Agent Mosura's mouth-to-mouth breaths kept an oxygen flow to his lungs, but beyond that ... still, the agents continued, undeterred.

"We were just focused on bringing him back," Agent Martinez said. "No way were we going to let him die. We just put all thoughts and feelings aside and kept going."

Suddenly a siren sounded within the gym. While the agents didn't even pause in their task, and the other patrons froze and looked around in confusion, Airman Coniglio knew exactly where the alarm originated. It started the moment the cabinet enclosing the AED unit was 'incorrectly' accessed, as Airman Coniglio, too nervous to properly insert the key, grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, snapping the lock in the process.

Moments later - though it may have seemed an eternity to those involved - the AED was connected to Agent Laywell's chest and back, its screen's glowing letters reading "administer shock now."

With the push of a button, an electrical current was sent through Agent Laywell's heart, re-establishing its rhythm. Within seconds, he had a pulse. By the time the paramedics burst onto the scene - a mere eight minutes since Airman Coniglio's call - Agent Laywell's eyes were open.

"We were all business when we were doing it, but afterwards there was a huge adrenalin rush," Agent Mosura admitted. "We couldn't believe we had done it."

Airman Coniglio experienced a similar detachment in the heat of the moment.

"It was like I had two brains: one going through the motions, and one observing. It was like I was on automatic pilot. I suppose my hands were working ahead of my thoughts, which usually doesn't work for me," he said, smiling.

82nd Training Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Richard Devereaux 'coined' the agents and Airman April 19 for their heroism. Having just attended the memorial service for an Army Soldier-in-Training here, the general firstly expressed gratitude that the men's efforts prevented the necessity of another military member's funeral.

"It wasn't just the right thing to do in terms of helping someone in need," he said, "it saved a life. If you had waited for the ambulance instead of using the AED, or even waited for the AED instead of doing CPR, he would no longer be with us. What you did took bravery and presence of mind, and we're proud of you."

According to the latest command post report, Agent Laywell was in stable condition at United Regional.

Agents Martinez and Mosura have visited Agent Laywell in the hospital.

"He's doing fine," Agent Martinez said. "He was awake and talking to us. He's very grateful, of course, and both he and his wife thanked us."

Airman Coniglio's AED training is a year old, though he also runs through the procedure monthly and participates in simulations twice a year. Agents Martinez and Mosura both received their most recent CPR training in January - at the Levitow gym, coincidentally.

"We're just glad we were there that morning, for some reason we just hung around. Something brought us together that morning," Agent Martinez said, possibly summarizing the sentiments of everyone involved.