John Wallop, a 19-year-old Wawa employee, saved a woman’s life when she fell into a seizure in the store’s bathroom.
The high school senior was working a double shift Dec. 17 behind the deli counter of a Wawa in Millville, New Jersey. Two customers ran up to him to tell him there was a woman having a seizure in the bathroom, 6 ABC, a local ABC affiliate, reported.
“This is actually my first job. I’ve worked at Wawa for about a year now,” he said to the news outlet. “It was a pretty normal day for a 16-hour shift. I was pretty tired. I was working making sandwiches, and two strangers ran up to me like, ‘Hey, hey, there’s a girl having a seizer in the bathroom. She’s not breathing.'”
Wallop ran to his manager first to tell her to call 911 before sprinting to the bathroom and finding the woman on the floor, reported the Daily Journal. He recalled seeing the woman’s bag, which was full of drugs, on the floor next to her. (RELATED: REPORT: Tim Tebow Saves Fan From Seizer After Laying His Hands On Him And Praying)
“I was like ‘oh snap… this is serious,'” he said to 6 ABC. “I ran over to her, laid her on her back side, checked her pulse, and I pinched her nose, titled her head back and continued CPR.”
Calvina Wallop, John’s mother, told 6 ABC that his grandmother had taken John to CPR classes one summer. When speaking to Fox 29, the teen said he felt his grandmother was with him “100% of the way.”
“Before all this even happened, he was always great. He was always eager to help,” his mother said.
John Wallop, a 19 -year-old Wawa employee is proof that when bystanders know CPR, lives are saved! #CPR #YouCanSaveALife #SCAFoundationhttps://t.co/HZWCZSdLcS pic.twitter.com/mMzK1wQlnD
— Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation (@SCAFoundation) December 31, 2021
Wallop was unable to get a pulse for a short period of time and said the woman died on him for a second. But instead of giving up, he continued to administer CPR until the woman began to cough, 6 ABC reported. It took EMT staff about seven minutes to arrive on scene, according to the outlet. (REPORTED: Once Again, Someone Used CPR Skills Learned From ‘The Office’ To Save A Life)
“It was like firecrackers going off in my head when I had to do it,” Wallop said, according to the Daily Journal. “I was surprised. I kind of just blacked out and did what I had to do.”
This was the first time Wallop had to utilize his official CPR training, Fox 29 reported.
The teenager has received tremendous recognition from his friends and classmates, according to 6 ABC. The Positive Vibes Community Group in Millville gave him a Pillar of the Community Hero Award.
“John is a thoughtful young man and always shows respect for his teachers and peers,” Millville High School Principal Jaime Sutton said to the Daily Journal. “It is no surprise that he jumped right in to help someone in need. We are extremely proud of John.”
Humbled by the experience, Wallop is thinking about joining the police force. (RELATED: One Of The ‘Happiest Moments Of My Life’: Police Officer Tells Story Of Saving Newborn Baby’s Life, All Caught On Bodycam)
“I believe we need more EMTs and medics and law enforcement officers out there,” he said to 6 ABC. “I believe schools should [teach] CPR for health class or gym.”
“Certain things in life, you know, you’re not going to know when it’s going to end or not. So, everything is a valuable lesson.”
There are no reports on the woman’s current condition as of publication of this article.