SPOTLIGHT STORY

University of Cincinnati on winning the OATA Student Leadership Award and College/University Scholarship Award respectively!!___________________________________________________________________________________

Jillian Rubin is an assistant athletic trainer at Miami University

Rubin, originally from West Bloomfield, Michigan, earned her Bachelor's Degree in Athletic Training with a minor in Spanish from Michigan State University in 2010. She went on to earn her Master's Degree in Tourism Administration with a concentration in Sports Management from George Washington University in 2012.

February 14, 2013

I arrived on the pool deck for morning swim practice, and one of the coaches informed me that they may need my medical assistance at the other end of the pool. I look over and see the lifeguards pulling a man out of the water on a spine board. The lifeguards seemed a bit flustered, and were taking their time putting on gloves, so I stepped in to help the man. After a quick assessment, I began performing chest compressions, one of the lifeguards performed rescue breathing, and the other went to get the AED. The man was likely under water for at least 2 minutes before he was taken out. We had to frequently roll him on his side to get the water out of his lungs. After about 4 minutes of CPR, and many cracked ribs, we got a shallow pulse for a few seconds. After he was dried as best as possible and another round of CPR, the AED finally advised a shock. We continued with one more round of CPR before the squad got there, and they took over.

The man's sister-in-law was around, and she stated that they had just gone over his last will and testament the week prior and that he was DNR, as he had an enlarged heart and previous heart conditions. However, the paperwork was not there, so as our legal duty, we continued.

At the hospital, the physicians did not believe he would make it through the night, as he went a significant amount of time without oxygen, and they were also not pushing any medication besides pain relievers due to the DNR. The family was ready to take him off of all machines, when the next morning, the nurse walked in to find him reading, and he was able to say a few words. From that point on, he has progressed tremendously. At about 10 days post, the doctors stated he had progressed to a level of someone 8-9 months post-traumatic brain injury would be, and he keeps progressing each day.