Middle school tech worker uses CPR skills to save pickleball player’s life

It was the right place, at the right time, and that right place was near the pickleball court.

A man’s heart stopped while playing on the courts near Lexington Middle School in Fort Myers. His friend rushed for help, finding a school tech worker.

WINK News talked with the hero who is used to fixing technology but now saves lives.

Teachers and students usually call Ezequiel Valentin for help when problems with technology pop up. He has been at Lexington for almost two years now.

Part of his employee training is knowing how to do CPR.

“We start with the CPR training and go through what to do in the event of a cardiac arrest,” said Chelsea Carey, a Lexington Middle School nurse.

Valentin completed this training two weeks ago, but little did he know he would be putting those skills to the test very quickly.

“I was just sitting on the front office, checking students in, and then I opened the door [and a] student and a gentleman came running into the building while that student was holding the door and kept screaming, ‘Help. We need a defibrillator; we need CPR. Can anyone help?'” Valentin said.

So he ran across the street to Wa-Ke Hatchee Park in Fort Myers.

“When I got there, he was not actually breathing,” Valentin said. “He was completely unconscious, and after the first shock, he started gasping for air, but then it rapidly stopped, so then we continued the chest compressions on him, and then as soon as the second shock went through, he started gasping for air even more.”

Before he knew it, EMT arrived and told him that if he hadn’t jumped in, the outcome would have been different.

“My assistant principal was there, and EMT did tell him that if it wasn’t for my response and the defibrillator, he would have not made it,” Valentin said.

He never imagined getting a call for help to save a life, going from tech specialist to lifesaver.