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About Us:
It's
hard to believe that 7 years ago Cherylle and I over
cups of coffee shared our stories of personal lost.
We both had recently witnessed the death of a love one
and friend, caused by sudden cardiac arrest. We would
like to take a moment to share our stories with you.
Cherylle's
Story
It
was June 1999, and my church was preparing for our anniversary
celebration. I invited a guest minister who was also
a friend to deliver the anniversary sermon. On the day
of the event it was standing room only, the guest speaker's
sermon was electrifying. No one was prepared for what
would happen next. Within 20 minutes of his sermon,
the minister began to clutch his chest and crumbled
to the floor. For a moment there was silence of disbelief
and then chaos. There was no one who had the training
or knowledge to respond to the minister's emergency.
His death was tragic.
Windy's
Story
In
September 8, 1999, Mrs. Irene Williams loving known
as Tiny arrived in Washington DC.
This was her annual family visit to see her daughter
and granddaughter Windy. Irene was 87 years old a true
southern belle. Her biscuits (made from scratch) and
applesauce pancake were heavenly.
Day one of her visit was filled with good food and laughter.
On day two I was awaken by the smell of fresh brewed
coffee, it was 6:00AM and Irene was preparing breakfast.
As we sat at the kitchen table, planning our itinerary
for the day, I began notice that she was rubbing the
right side of her face and jaw. I asked her if there
was something wrong she stated, "I think I am getting
and ear ache, I will be fine." What I didn't know
was that she was exhibiting signs of heart attack. Minutes
later my grandmother collapsed. My first reaction was
this can't be happening, but it was and her life was
in my hands.
At 8:00AM I began CPR on my grandmother. I started with
breaths, carefully watching to see her chest rise. I
looked for any signs of life, but there was none. I
immediately started chest compressions, praying that
each one I delivered would save her. After what seemed
like an eternity (about 10 minutes) of CPR, 911 arrived.
Six hours later she was gone.
These
experiences made a profound impact in both of our lives;
it left us with many unanswered questions. What were
the signs that something was wrong? Did we respond appropriately?
Could more have been done? It was from the lose of these
two lives that Life First Health Training Specialists
was born.
LIFE
FIRST HEALTH TRAINING SPECIALISTS, mission statement
Life
first is dedicated to providing expert health and safety
services to the public and private sectors. Providing
life saving education and training that will prepare
the first person on the scene of an emergency to respond
with confidence. We believe that everyone can be a hero
for life.
Bios:
Cherylle
G. Pratt - Vice President
Cherylle
Pratt co-established and co-founded Life First Health
Training Specialist in May 2000. Prior to her life long
dream of establishing her own business in the healthcare
arena, she was an instructor, analyst, personnel specialist
and financial specialist for 26 years for the Department
of Treasury. Her abilities to train were enhanced with
the completion of courses with the Lanvin Training Institute
of which she was awarded a certificate for Professional
Trainer.
Life
First is a conglomerate of business and healthcare functions.
Cherylle's daily responsibilities include training for
the various health and safety certifications as offered
by Life First. Additionally, she is the Training Curriculum
Coordinator and Marketing/Public Relations Representative.
Cherylle has been co-developer/creator of several of
the Life First Programs. Due to the originality and
thought put into the presentations, Life First has a
reputation of having the most interactive, realistic
and enjoyable training program.
True,
Life First is Cherylle's business but in reality it
is truly her DREAM Come True
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