Nearly nine months ago, first responders saved Reese Marlenee\u2019s young life.<\/p>\n
Last week, thankful to be alive, Marlenee welcomed rescuers to her high school to teach students the same lifesaving skills that saved hers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s important that everybody knows CPR, no matter how old they are,\u201d said Marlenee, watching Valley Regional Fire Authority firefighters and paramedics teach teens the basics of cardiopulmonary resuscitation in 10-minute stations scattered over the gymnasium floor at Auburn Mountainview High School. \u201cIt\u2019s important to learn how to do CPR<\/a>, because I\u2019m 16 and I had a heart attack. You can be 80 or you can be 1 (and) have a heart attack.\u201d<\/p>\n The Nov. 27 heart-awareness event was Marlenee\u2019s DECA class project, and her opportunity to give something back. The VRFA, as it does for communities throughout its jurisdiction, welcomed the invitation, and joined Marlenee to organize the program.<\/p>\n \u201cFor her to recover the way that she did and to have the ability and the maturity to put on an event like this speaks a lot about her character,\u201d said VRFA Capt. Ryan Freed, who kept three morning sessions of work stations rotating on time. \u201cIt would be really hard for someone her age to be able to reflect back on something like that. It\u2019s trauma, and to actually to put herself out there and be vulnerable for the betterment of fellow students says a lot about her.\u201d<\/p>\n Marlenee has come a long way since March 5 when she collapsed poolside at water polo practice and went into cardiac arrest. Her coach, Jenni Pritchard, and the Auburn School District pool\u2019s well-trained lifeguards quickly came to the fallen girl\u2019s aid, called 911. and methodically performed two-person CPR until emergency personnel arrived within minutes to relieve them.<\/p>\n Medics rushed Marlenee to Tacoma\u2019s Mary Bridge Hospital in 23 minutes.<\/p>\n Three days later, Marlenee underwent six hours of corrective surgery at Seattle Children\u2019s hospital, where doctors discovered she had a heart defect, a condition called ALCAPA (anomalous left coronary artery from the pulmonary artery) syndrome. It is a rare, congenital coronary artery anomaly that may cause dangerously poor cardiac function.<\/p>\n \u201cWithout CPR, she most likely would not be with us today,\u201d said her mother, Jessica.<\/p>\n This Sunday, with the help of medicine, and the strong support of family and friends, Marlenee celebrates her 17th birthday.<\/p>\n