May 2017
Kara
Schneider
,
RN
Emergency Department
SSM Health DePaul Hospital
Bridgeton
,
MO
United States
There are pivotal times in everyone's life. Kara Schnieder was the pivotal person in saving my son-in-law's life. He got off work and went to play in a softball league, as he has for many years. Running to first base, with his two small children and wife cheering him on, he dropped in cardiac arrest. Kara was watching from the stands as her boyfriend played for the opposing team. She ran out on the field and began CPR. With the help of the umpire, she kept it up until the ambulance arrived. He had no heartbeat and would be dead without her intervention. She was kneeling in the dirt, surrounded by a large group of shocked and terrified people, yet she stayed focused and calm. Every paramedic, ER medical staff, and cardiologist who fought to save his life said the same thing. Without the quick action she took, there would have been a very different outcome. This sweet woman came to see him in the hospital and brought him a gift, a little angel. How appropriate. My grandson and granddaughter will grow up knowing and hearing the story of how Kara saved Daddy. She is a real life, on the field, down in the dirt hero.