Around mid-October, Shirley Barnes went from being regarded as a friendly cashier to a hero.
Barnes works at the Spartan Club and says that she “loves working with the kids.”
Here, Barnes tells of how, last month, she saved the life of a student who was having a heart attack and a student describes how, again last month, she helped a girl who fell unconscious.
“I was coming from the [cafeteria to the Spartan Club] and there was a guy standing with his head down,” Barnes said. “Me being the person I am, [I] asked if he was okay and he said he was not.
“He said his heart felt like it was fluttering. I asked if he wanted water or anything, but he said ‘no,’ so I waited with him for security. Security took about 20 to 30 minutes to come, so I told the girl at the desk to just call an ambulance.
“Later I found out that he was having cardiac arrest and if he would have waited five more minutes, he would have died,” Barnes said.
About a week later, Barnes found herself in a similar situation with another student.
“I was on my way to my car when I passed out,” said the student who wished to remain anonymous.
Once again, Barnes came to the rescue.
“She gave me water and waited with me for security to come,” the student said.
When security arrived, they took the student to the health clinic.
After all of this, Barnes said that she “was just at the right place at the right time,” and that “it was an experience” for her.
Shivani Kanji can be reached at shivi88@gmail.com.