Andrew Wilson of Streamwood, Illinois, just 16 years old, is being hailed as a hero for saving the life of a young girl using a skill he thought he would never have to use: CPR. Wilson is a member of his local police department’s “Explorer Program for Youth”. Part of that program is taking CPR classes.
Last week, Andrew was in Peoria, a town about 3 hours south of Chicago with his teammates for an annual chess tournament attended by many schools in Illinois. The team was having dinner in the lobby of their hotel when they suddenly heard many people yelling and screaming for help. The sounds were coming from the pool.
A seven-year-old girl was having a seizure, and her grandfather was desperately trying to find someone who knew CPR. “I was surprised that what I was doing was working because I never did it in real life,” Wilson said.
Andrew sprang into action. He started giving breaths and compressions. After about 40 compressions, the girl regained consciousness and began to breathe. “I was surprised that what I was doing was working because I never did it in real life,” Andrew said of the incident. He immediately called his father, Office Greg Wilson, to tell him what had just happened. Greg is obviously very over the moon that his son had saved someone’s life.
“I was very proud and was just trying to reassure him that what he did was awesome and great and it worked out,” he said.
Andrew Wilson hopes to follow his father’s footsteps to a career in law enforcement.
