Healthcare worker helps save woman during Lexington’s Thriller Parade

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) - Charlotte Callan said she was sitting near the Kentucky Theatre enjoying Sunday night’s Thriller Parade when a real-life scare unfolded in front of her.

“After the zombies had passed, I noticed there was a couple of people that were standing around kind of kneeling around a person,” Callan said.

Callan works for UK Hospital and said she just received CPR training this year in order to give out COVID-19 vaccines.

“When this training is so fresh like mine was, you know exactly what you need to do in situations like that. And a lot of people are not informed of those kinds of things,” Callan said.

Callan was startled by the amount of people in the crowd who were unsure of how to help the woman, who she said was in cardiac arrest.

“People weren’t very calm, they didn’t know what to do,” Callan said.

She said some of the responses weren’t correct, like putting the woman on her side, even though her airway was not obstructed.

Lynne Washbish is the executive director for the Bluegrass Chapter of the Red Cross. She and Callan both emphasized the importance of knowing how to administer emergency aid in public.

“If you arm yourself with the tools in it to be able to react, when you’re faced with a situation like that you can act quickly and efficiently,” Washbish said.

Callan added that it’s also important to distinguish what a person is suffering from in order to respond appropriately, and that even just taking the time to watch a few videos online could make all the difference.

“Anything you do could be a life or death situation for that person. So if you know something about it then you’re able to make a difference in that person’s life,” Callan said.

Washbish said training is offered at their Red Cross Facility and the University of Kentucky. You can go to redcross.org and type in your zip code, or call the Bluegrass chapter at 859-253-1331 to sign up for a session.

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