A MacArthur High School teacher who went into cardiac arrest on campus is alive and well thanks to his students’ quick actions to save his life.
“I kept saying, ‘Focus on my voice, Mr. Compton. Keep your eyes open. Come on, breathe,’” MacArthur High School junior Aidan Anthony-Gonzalez recalled.
Unfortunately, Adam Compton, a 46-year-old social studies teacher, couldn’t do that on his own. If it wasn’t for his skate club students, he might not be alive today.
“I asked one of the students next to me, ‘How long have I been out?’ They said, ‘A couple of minutes,’” Compton told KSAT. “Then nothing after that. From there, I woke up in the hospital.”
On Nov. 7, Compton and his skate club went to skate after school, as they typically do. That day would forever change the club’s relationship and strengthen their bond.
“They went to go run for the trainers. We were like, ‘Go! Run! Run!’ Abby was the one who called 911,” Anthony-Gonzalez said.
As the students split tasks to help Compton, they reached out to school athletic trainer Amanda Boyd within minutes to perform CPR.
“He definitely had no life in him, and so, it’s hard to just process that at the moment,” Boyd said.
“Me and Steven (Amaro) at that point ran for the AED (automated external defibrillator),” Anthony-Gonzalez said. “The theater (students) was (sic) there that day, so they opened the door just by coincidence.”
Everything fell into place for a heroic rescue. MacArthur High School senior Steven Amaro had become CPR and AED-certified just weeks before the Nov. 7 incident.
“I opened everything up, put the pads on him, and that’s when the paramedics came and I let them take over,” Amaro said. “I never thought I would have to do it in person because it’s something you don’t expect. And it’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing that should never happen to anyone.”
After a brief stint in the intensive care unit, Compton was discharged and is now back teaching at the school.
“We had Thanksgiving not long after that, and I think the thing that I kept experiencing not long after that over that holiday was looking at my wife and kids and just thinking, ‘I almost didn’t have this.‘” Compton said. “And it’s not a hypothetical.”
Compton hopes to be back on a skateboard next semester. For now, he said he will enjoy watching his students do what they love.
“Even after we all graduate and drift apart, nothing can separate us from what we did that day,” Amaro said. “You can be friends for life, and then you can be friends that saved a life.”