LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Ayanne Cooney didn't expect to be a hero when she took a CPR class with Stacey Parks — and she definitely didn't expect to later save Parks' life.
Cooney and Parks work together at the Jeff Wyler Mercedes dealership in Louisville.
"She's my work mom, but she's almost everybody's work mom," Cooney said.
In the spring, Parks organized a CPR training class that taught how to properly use an AED machine — and Cooney attended.
"Unfortunately, we only had about 10 show up for the training class that night, but luckily Ayanne was one of them" Parks said.
It was incredible luck.
Just weeks later, Cooney noticed Parks slumped at her desk, causing Cooney to jump into action.
"That's when I grabbed the AED," Cooney said. "I took, I took the, what you call it, the pad and I started putting it on her and everything."
The AED continued to prompt Cooney through the process until EMS arrived on scene.
"It didn't really hit me until that certain EMT said that (I) probably saved her life, putting the AED, doing CPR on her and everything," Cooney said. "But I don't think it actually quite hit me in reality until Stacey came out of her medically induced coma and she was talking to me ... That's when it hit me that, oh my god, I saved somebody's life. And she's here now because of what I did and because I took that class."
Parks said she believes the outcome would have been different if things didn't play out how they did.
"I just feel like she was there for that reason at that moment," Parks said.
She also said she can't express enough how grateful she is for Cooney — who is now set to throw out the first pitch during Saturday's Reds game.
"It's hard to even put in words," Parks said. "I mean, how do you thank somebody for saving your life?"
If you're interested in learning how to use an AED or taking a CPR class near you, click here.
