CPR, AED, Cool heads prevail as three Sheppard members save a life Published April 23, 2007 By Staff Sgt. Tonnette Thompson 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- It happened without warning. No complaint of dizziness, no swooning. No drooping eyelids or words that slowly trailed off. One moment he was awake and alert -- the next found him slumping toward the hardwood floor, unconscious and not breathing. For the next 10 minutes, the life of Special Agent Christopher Laywell hung in the balance. His survival depended on two fellow agents from Sheppard AFB's Office of Special Investigations, one Airman, and an automated external defibrillator. Moments before, OSI agents had just finished playing a basketball game, which served as their morning PT session. As their coworkers drifted off to prepare for the workday, Agent Laywell, Special Agent Fernando Martinez and Special Agent Frank Mosura decided to hang out on the basketball court a while more, talking and cooling down. Just on the other side of the enclosed basketball court wall, Senior Airman Christopher Coniglio, a fitness specialist with the 82nd Services Division, finished up his rounds and returned to the front desk. From the corner of his eye, the Airman caught an image through the window overlooking the court: two men crouching over a third who lay on the floor. One man checked for a pulse and quickly shook his head. Airman Coniglio was already reaching for the phone when Agent Mosura yelled to him, "He's not responding, call 911!" While giving the 911 operator the information -- secretly praying he'd gotten the building number right -- Airman Coniglio watched Agent Martinez perform chest compressions and thought of the AED hanging on the opposite wall just a few feet away. Meanwhile, Agent Laywell's heart was not responding to Agent Martinez's efforts. Agent Mosura's mouth-to-mouth breaths kept an oxygen flow to his lungs. Refusing to give up, the agents continued. "We were just focused on bringing him back," Agent Martinez said. "No way were we going to let him die. We just put all thoughts and feelings aside and kept going." Suddenly a siren sounded within the gym. While the agents didn't even pause in their task, and the other patrons froze and looked around in confusion, Airman Coniglio knew exactly where the alarm originated. It started the moment the cabinet enclosing the AED unit was 'incorrectly' accessed, as Airman Coniglio, too nervous to properly insert the key, grabbed the door handle and wrenched it open, snapping the lock in the process. Moments later -- though it may have seemed an eternity to those involved -- the AED was connected to Agent Laywell's chest and back, the glowing letters on the screen reading "administer shock now." With the push of a button, an electrical current coursed through Agent Laywell's heart, re-establishing its rhythm. Within seconds, he had a pulse. By the time the paramedics burst onto the scene minutes later, Agent Laywell's eyes were open. "We were all business when we were doing it, but afterwards there was a huge adrenalin rush," Agent Mosura said. "We couldn't believe we had done it." Airman Coniglio experienced a similar detachment in the heat of the moment. "It was like I had two brains -- one going through the motions, and one observing. It was like I was on automatic pilot. I suppose my hands were working ahead of my thoughts, which usually doesn't work for me," he said, smiling. 82nd Training Wing Commander Brig. Gen. Richard Devereaux "coined" the agents and Airman April 19 for their life-saving efforts. Having just attended the memorial service for an Army soldier in training here, the general expressed gratitude that the men's efforts prevented the necessity of another military member's funeral. "It wasn't just the right thing to do in terms of helping someone in need," he said, "it saved a life. If you had waited for the ambulance instead of using the AED, or even waited for the AED instead of doing CPR, he would no longer be with us. What you did took bravery and presence of mind, and we're proud of you." Agents Martinez and Mosura have visited Agent Laywell in the hospital. "He's doing fine," Agent Martinez said. "He was awake and talking to us. He's very grateful, of course, and both he and his wife thanked us." "We're just glad we were there that morning. For some reason, we just hung around," Agent Martinez said. "Something brought us together that morning." Thanks to training and quick action, they are still together today.