SPRING LAKE, Mich. — Monday, March 10 began like any normal day for first grader Tinley Baranowski. Her dad, Paul, said she was excited for school, ate a good breakfast and got dressed for school. She attends Jeffers Elementary School in Spring Lake.
"I drove her to school, I dropped her off, gave her a kiss on the forehead, I drove my son to daycare," said Paul. "As soon as I got to the daycare, Jeffers called me and said she was down and hooked up to the AED."
Tinley had fallen walking into the school, only moments after her father left. She was in cardiac arrest.
Thankfully, the staff at the school wasted no time using their training to bring her back.
"She was definitely turning blue and her breaths were really labored and short," said Alec Lininger, PE teacher at the school, nicknamed Coach L. "I think that's when we really knew we had to attach the AED and start CPR."
He ran to get the AED and began chest compressions while the machine gave the audio instructions. It wasn't long after he initiated the shock that paramedics arrived.
"I think it was under two minutes, from the time that we had the call for help to the time that she was revitalized," said Coach L.
Tinley was taken to a Grand Rapids hospital before being transferred to University of Michigan CS Mott Children's Hospital, where her doctors worked. When Tinley was only a year old, she was diagnosed with a complex congenital heart defect.
"When she was 13 months, we were in the hospital for about three months total," said her mom, Nina. "She had three open heart surgeries, two ECMO rounds, and a 42 minute cardiac arrest all within 30 days."
Since then, Tinley has not had another heart event and has been a growing girl. Still, her parents prepare her school officials, just in case. According to Jeffers Elementary principal, Shelley Peets, said they had just briefed and trained staff on CPR and AED use the week prior to her event.
"It was the next day that her dad came in and he said to us, she went into V fib," said Peets. "I wasn't quite sure what that was, so I had to look that up. And we had literally three minutes to respond or she wouldn't be with us."
Tinley had gone into ventricular fibrillation (V-fib), a dangerous type of irregular heartbeat. She is still in the hospital in Ann Arbor, where doctors are trying to figure out how that happened earlier this month. She has not had another heart event. Paul said she is asking to go back to school.
"It's like nothing short of a miracle that what the school did," said Paul. "When I tell you we tell every medical professional that we've been in contact with that they said like she was out for under a minute from the time she went down to the time the AED was actually enacted, they are blown away. They absolutely can't believe it, how quick it was."
Coach L said he has done multiple CPR trainings in his career and although the situation was "really frightening," he was happy he had the training and was able to get to her so quickly.
"I guess in the moment, it just felt like I knew exactly what to do, because I've done it so many times, even though it wasn't real," said Coach L. "Our job is to care for young students and make sure they get home safe. So I mean, you have to do what you have to do sometimes. It is your job."
Meanwhile, Tinley's parents are so thankful the school responded as quickly as they did.
"We're super grateful that there was an AED," said Nina. "We're sad that Tinley needed it, but without it, she wouldn't be alive today. That just means so much that have her. And then knowing the school did everything right. They did everything right."
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