'A whole other level of gratitude': North Brunswick school staffers save student's life

For Victor Poupart, Dec. 22 was a day like most other days – until it wasn't.

A sophomore at North Brunswick Township High School, Victor was looking forward to winter break. It was an early-dismissal day, and his mother Carla Poupart was picking him up.

Victor had a good day. He had participated in three Christmas in the Commons events, playing music with the band. The teen, who also is sophomore class president, was happy.

He got in the car, started to tell him mom about his day and then stopped. Victor said he wasn't feeling well, and he passed out.

Victor was in sudden cardiac arrest.

Carla Poupart started screaming for help, said Director of Security Mike Misurell.

Several school staffers sprang into action. An automated external defibrillator (AED) machine and CPR brought his heart rate back to normal and restored blood flow.

"When we got to Victor, he was absolutely not breathing and had no pulse," Misurell said. "So we were able to get him out of the vehicle and onto a hard surface and then between four of my officers and myself, we started CPR and mouth to mouth. We secured the AED and put the AED on. We were able to administer a shot with the AED, but unfortunately it did not start his heart. So we continued CPR."

While Misurell said it "seemed like" EMS and the First Aid Squad were there within seconds, he and his team performed CPR for "quite a bit of time," switching off between people during compressions and breaths.

"Just as the ambulance was pulling up − we had somebody monitoring his pulse − and that officer yelled 'I got a pulse. I got a pulse!" Misurell said.

"I was proud to say it went like a well-oiled machine, even though it scared the heck out of all of us," Misurell said.

Victor was taken to Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital. Carla Poupart remembers the principal, superintendent and others coming to visit Victor.

Victor remembers waking up in the hospital, confused and "worried that something bad will happen to me again."

He was transferred to Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania (CHOP) in Philadelphia, where he stayed about 14 days. Doctors determined Victor has some sort of "genetic mutation that contributes to having an irregular heart pattern − an electrical problem of his heart," Carla Poupart said.

Because of the heart issue being "electrical," Victor had a defibrillator implanted and will continue on medication.

'Rebirth'

Though he spent Christmas in the hospital, Victor came home on New Year's Eve and returned to school a week later.

Last week marked Victor's one month "rebirth," as he calls it.

"Everybody at the school has been really supportive and helpful and knowledgeable and really working with us to make sure he's safe," Carla Poupart said. "He's had a buddy walking with him − one of the security guards − in between classes and using the elevator and things like that that might be necessary."

More: 'Only had minutes to act': How an AED saved a South Brunswick basketball player’s life

"It was amazing that they're there," Victor added. "I'm so lucky that they were there. They're all amazing. I'm really just so thankful for all of them and everything that they did for me."

Everyone involved is grateful for Victor's recovery.

"Victor is one of the nicest, greatest kids you'd ever want to meet," Misurell said. "That day, he had been performing for our Christmas concert, and he was up there strumming his guitar and just having a grand time. We knew him before this incident. But now we love him even more. He's just the greatest kid you'd ever want to meet or talk to."

Right place, right time

Before Dec. 22, there was no sign that Victor had any health problems, his mother said.

"He was a happy, healthy, growing, thriving, young 15-year-old," she said. "He's active in the band – he plays bass guitar. He's a big guy − about 6-foot-1 and 280 pounds. He's never had any sort of issues before. We had no idea."

Carla Popart said it was lucky the cardiac arrest happened in the school's parking lot.

"It really is a blessing that we didn't leave that parking lot," she said. "Had we left and drove away, there's no AED machine. There's not six men taking turns giving him CPR.

"It's just a blessing that everybody there did the tasks that had to be done and just went full force and knew what to do and knew the timing of it. It's amazing. They're great people. It's one thing to send your kid to school and know that you're trusting them to be there and be safe and just go about their day being secure. But it's another thing to know that they're in exceptionally good hands when it comes to an emergency like this."

At Wednesday's Board of Education meeting, the district honored "the dedicated NBTHS staff whose quick actions and resuscitation efforts played a crucial role in saving Victor’s life," said Superintendent of Schools Janet Ciarrocca.

Besides Misurell, the staff members who worked to save Victor's life are Principal Mike Kneller, teachers Brett Grey and Barbara Williams and security department members Robert Giambrone, Jason Hatez, Jamie Howell, Vivian Lopez, Linda Mruczinski, Lavar Reneau, Marcia Steinman, George Stilwell, Carla Treadwell and Angelo Zecca.

The event also brought a focus on the importance of staff training and having AED machines, Ciarrocca said.

"As a school district, we are in the business of being prepared.  We have AED machines in all of our buildings, and we have trained MERT (Medical Emergency Response Teams) and other staff who know how to use them," Ciarrocca said. "That preparation paid off in a strong way on Dec. 22 and that trained district staff were there in a true emergency, knew to grab the AED machine, implement CPR, and save the life of one of our students.  We are truly grateful for their quick response and heroic actions."

Misurell agreed that training is vital.

"It does prove that CPR works," Misurell said. "It gave us the save. And yeah, the staff was extremely shaken up, but they performed very, very well. It was a group effort. It really was. And we just said, 'Nope, not tonight. Not on our watch.'"

The Poupart family attended Wednesday's school board meeting and both Carla Poupart and Victor spoke to the men and women who saved his life. There were many handshakes and hugs.

"It's on a whole other level of gratitude for these people," Carla Poupart said. "I wish I could do more and give more and provide more to them but it's not going to be enough. I would never be able to show them the gratitude I feel."

email: cmakin@gannettnj.com

Cheryl Makin is an award-winning features and education reporter for MyCentralJersey.com, part of the USA Today Network. Contact: Cmakin@gannettnj.com or @CherylMakin. To get unlimited access, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: North Brunswick NJ High School staffers save student's life