EL PASO, Texas ( KTSM ) — Ray Badillo is 91 years old, and has dedicated the past 12 years to his family’s business as an instructor offering basic and advanced life support training to healthcare professionals and large institutions across the Borderland.
“These classes are what keep me young. I love teaching these classes. They keep me moving,” Badillo said. “I just want to help people save lives. There’s a lot of lives lost out there. If somebody knows how to save a life, they can help them. It’s a beautiful feeling to save a life, just beautiful.”
Badillo said he has had to put his knowledge and experience to work on four separate occasions, in which he has successfully helped resuscitate each person by administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).
Badillo served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, and is a Purple Heart combat veteran, where he acquired his CPR experience. He says he has been a licensed CPR instructor for over 15 years, and described the moment he learned the value of knowing how to administer CPR.