A Dallas Baptist University student sprang into action Tuesday night when she discovered an unconscious man on an Oak Lawn street, performing CPR that may have saved his life.
Emma Dilley, a freshman pre-med student, demonstrated how years-old high school training can prove invaluable when she encountered a medical emergency near Lemmon and Douglas avenues.
Dilley and friends were driving through the area when they spotted a crowd gathered around a man lying in the street. She immediately pulled over to investigate.
“I got on the scene, and I checked his pulse, and it was very faint. I actually thought he was dead when I got there, but I re-did the pulse, and it was just a very faint pulse,” Dilley said, Fox 4 KDFW reported.
A bystander told her the man had flagged someone down, complaining of an asthma attack, before collapsing. An inhaler lay beside him.
“I figured I needed to put others before myself, and so I just hopped out and did CPR,” Dilley explained.
Cell phone footage captured Dilley performing chest compressions on the unconscious man. Despite having learned CPR as a high school freshman, she had never performed it on a human before Tuesday night.
The man revived during Dilley’s second round of compressions. First responders arrived minutes later and took over his care.
“I want to go into healthcare, so I figured I’d use it at some point, but definitely didn’t think I’d use it in college,” said Dilley, who hopes to become a NICU doctor.
When asked if she believes she saved the man’s life, Dilley responded modestly: “I think I did. I tried my best. But I’m just glad I was there to help and be there for him.”
Dallas Fire-Rescue transported the man to a local hospital. No update on his condition was available on Wednesday evening.