By Rebecca Wyatt, OU Web Writer

Clinten Schwindel, a nurse anesthesia student, hadn’t played volleyball in a year, but earlier this fall he decided to fill in for someone on a friend’s recreational team playing at Ferndale High School. During the game, a 25-year-old woman on the next court collapsed and stopped breathing. Schwindel’s nursing skills kicked in and he kept her alive until paramedics arrived.

“I noticed on the court next to us that a girl was lying on the ground and people were huddled around her,” said Schwindel, who was in the middle of his first game. 

By the time he got to her, she was blue and unresponsive. 

 “I performed two mouth-to-mouth breaths, and she was still struggling to breathe on her own and had no pulse,” Schwindel said.

Luckily, the school had an automated external defibrillator device, which checked the woman for a shockable rhythm and then shocked her once reviving her.

“At that point, she had a heartbeat and was starting to breathe,” Schwindel said.

The paramedics arrived, gave her oxygen and took her to Royal Oak Beaumont, which, coincidentally, is where Schwindel works. As soon as he was able, he visited her in intensive care, where her family thanked him for helping her. Schwindel said he visited her a few more times to make sure she was on the road to recovery. 

Schwindel worked in the intensive care unit for four years before beginning the nurse anesthesia program at OU. He said when he saw the young woman in need, he jumped right into action because that is what he was trained to do.

“I don’t look at myself as a hero because I see people do things like that here every day,” Schwindel said.

For more information on the School of Nursing programs, visit the School of Nursing Web site or call (248) 370-4253.