SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif- Mary winokur and her husband Jerry lost their son to sudden cardiac arrest last year. Mary says, "there was nothing wrong with him I mean he worked all day he was very athletic and he just collapsed and died after work." So she decided to find a way to keep Ryan's memory alive. Mary says, "I don't know why I was sitting on the couch one day and I just said I'm going to go to the high schools and I'm going to teach CPR free of charge to help prevent this from happening to anybody else."
And the numbers of deaths from sudden cardiac arrest are startling. Mary says, 95 percent of people in San Luis Obispo County who suffer from cardiac arrest will die. That's she and her husband have made it their mission to teach CPR to high school students all over the county.
The students are soaking it in. After 4 hours of training student's take home certifications, but more importantly the skills to bring someone back to life. Elaina Hogeboom, an Arroyo Grande Freshmen says, "you can use your common sense when you see someone choking but to actually know every step you are supposed to take, its comforting to know that." Each of these steps help to keep the number of deaths due to sudden cardiac arrest down.
