LORAIN, Ohio — A typical work shift at the Broadway AutoZone for 17-year-old Livia Goforth quickly turned into a matter of life or death.
Goforth has been employed at AutoZone for two months. Her job mainly consists of changing headlights, brake lights, windshield wipers, checking battery and engine lights, and assisting customers with choosing the correct auto parts for their vehicle.
It was the early evening of Feb. 27 when Goforth said she was outside with a customer taking a look at a vehicle when a Cleveland man walked into her store to pick up a part.
Soon after, the sound of commotion filled the store.
“I walked back in the store, and I hear yelling, and I hear screaming, and I see all my coworkers surrounding in a corner and I'm like, ‘What's going on?,’” Goforth said.
Goforth said the Cleveland man was initially leaning against one of the counters before he collapsed. One of her co-workers caught the man as he fell.
“I froze. I sat there and I was panicking at first. You're not prepared to deal with that working at an auto parts store,” Goforth said. “Something in my head had clicked where I knew that I had to jump in and do something not only because of the training that I had, but I was the only person who was doing anything.”
Goforth, who has been CPR-certified for more than two years and previously worked as a lifeguard at Lakeview Beach in Lorain County, turned the man on his side to prevent him from choking or hurting himself. She then routinely checked for a pulse and started chest compressions.
Goforth called 911 while performing CPR and stayed on the phone with dispatch until medical personnel arrived on scene. She estimates she performed CPR on the man for a total of 10 minutes.
We spoke to University Hospitals Harrington and Vascular Institute Cardiologist Doctor James Cireddu about CPR. He said CPR typically consists of 100-120 compressions per minute if performed in tune with a song called Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees.
“The more time goes by, the less likely we'll be able to get those patients back. The success rate drops fairly precipitously each minute the CPR is delayed, so we're trying to get people to start it as soon as possible, and that makes it much more likely the patient will survive and get to the hospital. They'll have a good neurologic recovery, meaning they're not going to have significant brain damage and be able to get back to their normal quality of life,” Cireddu stated.
Goforth recalled the man breathing again twice while she performed CPR, but that his breathing was inconsistent.
The man was then transported to Mercy Health – Lorain for further treatment.
“[The man’s] daughter called the store one of the days that I was working. It was maybe 48 hours after it had happened. It was like the longest 48 hours of my life. I was stressing out. I just wanted to know if he was okay or not,” Goforth said.
Goforth said the man’s daughter told her that her father was recovering well. His daughter also told Goforth he did have six broken ribs, Goforth said.
“I'd rather have broken ribs than my life taken,” Goforth noted. “My lifeguard instructor always told me if you don’t break ribs when you’re doing CPR, then you’re not doing it right. As soon as I started doing the first compression, I did feel his ribs break. That was a traumatic experience.”
However, the experience has further emboldened Goforth to consider a medical career. She’s considering attending Lorain County Community College for a bridge program that would put her on a path to becoming a registered nurse.
“My mom is a nurse. She's a phlebotomist and a registered nurse, and my great-grandma was in the first graduating nursing class at Lorain County Community College,” Goforth said. “It’s in the blood.”
Cireddu told us heroism like Goforth’s is great and hopes it encourages others to learn CPR.
“We really want the entire community to feel comfortable doing it,” he said.
