N.Y. Teen Saves Unconscious Mother Using CPR

Oct. 21--POTSDAM -- After some quick thinking and commitment by her daughter and husband saved her life earlier this month, one local woman -- and her family -- are breathing a little easier.

Deborah M. Saucier said all she remembers before losing consciousness Oct. 2 was playing with her dogs -- then waking up later in Canton-Potsdam Hospital and being told that she had been diagnosed with 16 ailments, including a leaky valve in her heart.

"That's probably what finally caused my collapse," she said.

Mrs. Saucier's husband Jed J. said his wife, who has arterial disease and depends on an oxygen tank, likely collapsed because she had bronchitis and a fever, and could not tolerate her medication.

Mrs. Saucier's daughter Dakota S., 15, an eighth grader at A.A. Kingston Middle School, said when she returned home from a shopping trip to Walmart with her father, she found her mother unconscious on the floor of the dining room.

"She was on the floor and wasn't breathing, her heart wasn't going, so I started doing CPR," she explained. "It was really, really just shocking, and nerve-wracking."

Mrs. Saucier, who learned CPR in her seventh grade health class, said she had to perform chest compressions for approximately 30 minutes until an ambulance arrived to transport her mother to the hospital.

"All I could think was: 'she can't be dead, this cannot be the last time I see her,'" said Mrs. Saucier. "I had to stay focused, so I kept reminding myself: 'stay focused, keep being on beat, relax.'"

Mr. Saucier, who also performed chest compressions on his wife, said he was thankful his daughter was there to do it correctly.

"It's been decades since I had the training, so I wasn't doing it fast enough and aggressive enough," he said. "I was proud of her, stepping up to the plate like that."

He said his daughter corrected him and then took over, allowing him to call 911.

"We kind of worked together, and we kept my wife going until the ambulance got there," he said.

Mrs. Saucier said the rescue has strengthened her bond with her mother and has taught her to be more vigilant about her mother's health issues.

"She does have serious health problems that definitely have to be watched," she said. "Me and my mom are definitely closer now after all this has happened. I learned that I have to stay around the house more and always be by my mom's side, because otherwise, something could happen again."

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