The trail the group was snowmobiling on narrowed at one point, and their friend didn’t realize it as he came around Chris. He hit a large pile of snow and was thrown off his snowmobile. Chris estimates he was thrown more than 130 feet.  

“I saw his gloves fly over me, it was like Superman through the air,” Chris said. “He landed face down in the snow with no movement.”  

Chris told Carrie to call 911, and he rushed over to help their friend. When he got to him, Chris could hear he was struggling to breathe. As a full-grown male in full snowmobile gear, it took quite a bit of effort to get him flipped over. The shield of his helmet cracked on impact and was full of snow, so Chris worked to remove his helmet and get his jacket unzipped.  

Meanwhile, Carrie was on the phone with 911 answering their questions. The operator told her that he was not getting enough oxygen to his brain and that they needed to start CPR.  

It just so happened that both Carrie and Chris had recently taken CPR courses. Carrie took a course through NTC, and Chris took a CPR course at work.  With the knowledge fresh in their minds, they were able to use their skills to administer CPR to their friend.  

“Her and I work really well as a team,” Chris said. “I knelt on one side of him and did compressions until I got tired. Then she would tap in, and we just continued like that, back and forth.”  

It took emergency medical services around 20 minutes to reach them due to the rural location. While 20 minutes may not ordinarily seem particularly long, that is a lot of time in an emergency situation.  

“He’s alive, and that’s what matters,” Carrie said. “I don’t think the outcome would have been as favorable if we didn’t have the knowledge.”  

By the time first responders arrived, their friend had begun to come around, and although he had some injuries, he is now okay. He is getting married soon, and both Chris and Carrie will be standing up in the wedding as the best man and the maid of honor. 

“I told so many people after that experience to go get CPR certified,” Chris said. “You never know what’s going to happen. Sometimes it takes too long for help to respond, and having that knowledge could be a matter of life or death.”  

NTC’s Workforce Training + Professional Development offers CPR courses throughout the year at each of its campuses. To find a CPR course, visit:  www.ntc.edu/academics-training/courses/emergency-medical-services/bls-basic-life-support-cpr.