Queens teacher uses CPR, AED to save student suffering seizure

ELMHURST, Queens (WABC) -- A Queens teacher used her CPR and AED training to save a student Thursday.

Longtime math teacher Amy Spears never factored the probability of her CPR and AED training being put to the test.

"I was in my classroom and three little girls came running into my room," Spears said, "and they were yelling they need help."

Teachers at the school receive the training every two years.

"I never really thought I would ever have to do this," she said, "and I used to say to myself there's no way I'm going to be able to do this I would probably panic."

When she discovered an unconscious little girl lying in the hallway of Louis Armstrong Middle School in Elmhurst, she passed that test with flying colors.

"I turned her over made sure she was breathing," Spears said. "She was having difficulty by that time I started to do CPR."

The sixth grader was in the middle of a seizure and had stopped breathing when Spears and assistant principal Dianne Hayden came to her aid. The pair worked together and delivered one shock to the child before paramedics arrived.

"This is a team effort," Hayden said. "We train together. We do the drills together and we worked together yesterday and we're happy for the outcome."

"I just did what I had to do," Spears said, "...having all the support around me made it more comfortable and I was able to keep composure and keep doing what I was supposed to be doing."

The student was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.