Homestead nurse celebrated for saving teacher's life
MIAMI - A local nurse was honored for her life-saving work at a special ceremony in Homestead.
Nurse Bethany Simmons-Little humbly held her award as the American Red Cross paid tribute to her for saving a teacher's life.
Simmons-Little shared with CBS News Miami the moment she got the call to put her CPR training into action.
"Ms. Bethany you are needed in the room 300 building. I immediately asked what do you need? She was like just go, I don't know they are calling for you. I went, just me, I went. When I got there, there was a teacher on the phone. She was crying, she was on the phone with 911," said Nurse Bethany Simmons-Little.
Simmons-Little said as soon as she arrived she knew it wasn't good.
"She was laying lifeless on the floor. It was a scene. Her eyes were glossed over, her face red. I remember just looking and the first thing I did was to make sure she was breathing and If I could feel a pulse. Shallow breathing in the beginning and within two minutes everything stopped," said Simmons-Little.
She performed CPR for 10 to 15 minutes until the paramedics arrived and because of what she did teacher Lisa Thelwell is alive today. Thelwell shared her thanks over the video played at the celebration.
"I often think about all the many ways things could have gone differently but God's plan was that nurse Bethany was there that day. That she got to me in time and that she had the skills and determination to keep me alive," said Thelwell.
"It just makes you happy to be here. I am happy that she is here and I am happy that I am here to enjoy life with her. She was right. We are forever bonded. It's a humbling experience. It's an amazing feeling, it makes you happy. It just makes you happy to be here," said Simmons-Little.
The American Heart Association estimates that up to 200,000 lives could be saved each year if CPR were performed early enough.
