LINCOLN, Neb — In July, Chuck Putnam collapsed from cardiac arrest in the parking lot of Pawnee Plunge Water Park. Sixteen-year-old Ashley De La Cruz-Martin, who had recently received CPR training at her high school, stepped in to perform CPR until paramedics arrived.
“Checked and noticed I was breathing hard and immediately said, ‘I’m trained,’ and started to do CPR on me until paramedics arrived,” Putnam said, describing the lifesaving actions of De La Cruz-Martin.
Paramedics rushed Putnam to Columbus Community Hospital and then to CHI Health Nebraska Heart in Lincoln, where Dr. Nayanjyoti Kaushik upgraded his pacemaker to an implantable cardio defibrillator. Putnam expressed gratitude to the EMS crews, doctors, and especially De La Cruz-Martin, saying, “That compelled me to try to get her recognized in any way, shape, or form because what she did for me was very significant.”…