Nine-year-old Logan Vangemert of Martin with Mr. Tom, the church supervisor whose life he saved using CPR. Logan had just watched a video at his school the day before where he learned the skills he needed.
Photo credit Jessica Vangemert
Photo credit Jessica Vangemert
A 9-year-old Allegan County boy is being hailed as a hero after using newly learned CPR skills to help save a man suffering sudden cardiac arrest at church.
In February, fourth-grader Logan Vangemert of Martin participated in the American Heart Association’s Kid’s Heart Challenge at his school, where he learned hands-only CPR. Just one day after watching the training video, Logan found himself in a real emergency.
Logan was in the children’s room at his church when the supervisor, Tom, suddenly collapsed. Witnesses later learned he had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. Tom’s wife, Beth, immediately began performing hands-only CPR, but in the chaos of the moment, she froze.
That’s when Logan stepped forward.
Drawing on what he had learned only the day before, Logan began performing hands-only CPR, keeping Tom’s blood circulating until other adults joined him. The group continued chest compressions for several minutes while someone searched the building for an AED (automated external defibrillator). When the AED arrived, it was used to deliver a shock that restarted Tom’s heart.
Emergency responders transported Tom to the hospital, where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery and received a pacemaker. He was released in late February and is now recovering at home.
Logan says he hopes the experience inspires others, especially kids, to learn lifesaving skills.
“I hope that people learn that CPR is important and that kids learn that they can do it too,” he said. He added, “Because I helped save a man doing CPR and I would like others to learn that CPR [is] important.”
The American Heart Association says early CPR can double or triple the chances of survival in cases of cardiac arrest, making Logan’s quick action critical. There are over 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the United States each year, but only 10 percent of them have positive outcomes.
Logan doesn’t see himself as a hero — just someone who knew what to do when it mattered most.
In February, fourth-grader Logan Vangemert of Martin participated in the American Heart Association’s Kid’s Heart Challenge at his school, where he learned hands-only CPR. Just one day after watching the training video, Logan found himself in a real emergency.
Logan was in the children’s room at his church when the supervisor, Tom, suddenly collapsed. Witnesses later learned he had gone into sudden cardiac arrest. Tom’s wife, Beth, immediately began performing hands-only CPR, but in the chaos of the moment, she froze.
That’s when Logan stepped forward.
Drawing on what he had learned only the day before, Logan began performing hands-only CPR, keeping Tom’s blood circulating until other adults joined him. The group continued chest compressions for several minutes while someone searched the building for an AED (automated external defibrillator). When the AED arrived, it was used to deliver a shock that restarted Tom’s heart.
Emergency responders transported Tom to the hospital, where he underwent quadruple bypass surgery and received a pacemaker. He was released in late February and is now recovering at home.
Logan says he hopes the experience inspires others, especially kids, to learn lifesaving skills.
“I hope that people learn that CPR is important and that kids learn that they can do it too,” he said. He added, “Because I helped save a man doing CPR and I would like others to learn that CPR [is] important.”
The American Heart Association says early CPR can double or triple the chances of survival in cases of cardiac arrest, making Logan’s quick action critical. There are over 350,000 out-of-hospital cardiac arrests in the United States each year, but only 10 percent of them have positive outcomes.
Logan doesn’t see himself as a hero — just someone who knew what to do when it mattered most.
