A first responder who saved students during the Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Parkland, Florida became visibly emotional as he recalled saving the life of one young girl on CNN Monday morning.
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Madeleine Wilford was shot in the chest during the attack that killed 17 people, and at first, the medical personnel in the school thought she was dead.
Lt. Laz Ojeda described the scene as responders got her out of the school and ultimately saved her life.
“When they were clearing the rooms, at first sight it was believed that Maddy had deceased,” Ojeda said. “And I believe she gasped or she moved, but she made signs of life.”
“When we got Maddy on the back of the rescue, we right away went to work,” he continued. “She was in what we call decompensated shock, her blood pressure was very low for us.”
Ojeda explained that when he teaches high school EMT classes, he often stressed that the “basic things” are sometimes more important than the complicated procedures. When they first got Maddy, they thought she was 15-years-old and were planning on taking her to a general hospital 30 miles away. However, Ojeda thought to ask how old she was because she did not appear 15.
“I looked at her, I gave her a sternal rub, I go, ‘hey, how old are you?’ Pause. Second sternal rub, ‘hey, how old are you?'” Ojeda said, tearing up. “She came around, she told me she was 17. So at that point, I looked at Will, and I go Will, ‘we’re going to North Broward, it’s only ten miles away.'”
Morgan Caplan contributed reporting to this piece.