Woman saves 2-year-old's life at BX

1997
Originally published by Fairchild Connection (Fairchild AFB, WA)

A two-year-old girl was rescued thanks to the quick thinking and actions of a base dry cleaners employee Monday.

Susan Thompson, manager of the laundry and dry cleaners store, noticed the girl had stopped breathing and was slumped over while sitting in the back of a shopping cart at the base exchange's back parking lot sale Sept. 29.

While a base exchange employee lifted the girl out of the children's seat in the cart, Thompson quickly evaluated the girl's condition, then began to perform CPR until a paramedic came on the scene. The child suffered a seizure and had been ill with a virus and fever recently, Thompson said.

"I'm not a doctor, but I knew something was wrong," Thompson said. "Her eyes were blank and staring, and she wasn't breathing. I'm just glad I was there."

"It all happened to quickly. I kept thinking of my three-year-old boy and that's the reason I reacted the way I did. I kept trying not to panic," she said. Thompson has also recently received her day care license.

Thompson had just finished a CPR class at the health and wellness center the previous Saturday. "Everybody needs to take that class," she said.

Terry Cleveland, a co-worker at the laundry and dry cleaners, said although Thompson reacted well to a potential tragedy, she was nonetheless shaken.

"She was nervous as a cat. She had just taken her class that Saturday and here she is putting it into action right away," Cleveland said.

Cleveland said that Thompson's unflappable and pleasant nature helped overcome the crisis situation.

"She handles people very well in our store, and she's both polite and direct. She's great with kids and chats with them when they come into our store with their parents. She's good in crises--she just has a knack," Cleveland said.

Thompson, who has plans to start her own day care center, chalked it up to being in the right place at the right time.

"I'm just glad I was there," Thompson said.

Her husband, SrA. Darren Thompson, is a member of the 92nd Transportation Squadron here.