Paying it forward.An act of heroism in upstate New York Upstate New York is the region of New York State north of the core of the New York metropolitan area. It has a population of 7,121,911 out of New York State's total 18,976,457. Were it an independent state, it would be ranked 13th by population. came full circle and paid unexpected dividends recently. The story began seven years ago, when 11-year-old Kevin Stephan of the Buffalo suburb of Lancaster was accidentally hit in the chest with a bat at a little league baseball game Noun 1. baseball game - a ball game played with a bat and ball between two teams of nine players; teams take turns at bat trying to score runs; "he played baseball in high school"; "there was a baseball game on every empty lot"; "there was a desire for National League . The blow stopped his heart instantly. But Kevin was very fortunate that day in 1999. A nurse named Penny Brown, who was supposed to work a shift that night, was given the evening off. She decided to watch her son play in the little league game. When young Kevin collapsed, Brown sprang into action and administered CPR Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) Definition Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure to support and maintain breathing and circulation for a person who has stopped breathing (respiratory arrest) and/or whose heart has stopped (cardiac on the boy, saving his life. During the years since, Kevin has never forgotten Brown and often wished he had an opportunity to thank her for saving his life. In February, Penny Brown, the same woman who had saved Kevin seven years ago, was dining out at the Hillview Restaurant in Depew, New York Depew is a village in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 16,629 at the 2000 census. The name is derived from Chauncey Mitchell Depew, the President of the New York Central Railroad and former US Senator. . It so happened that this was the same restaurant where Kevin Stephan worked. Kevin normally would have been in school at two in the afternoon; however, classes were cancelled for school exams and, having the day off, he went to work. Kevin's mother, Lorraine Stephan, was also in the restaurant and recognized Penny Brown as the woman who had saved her son seven years ago. She noticed something wrong: Brown was choking on her food! "The food wasn't going anywhere and I totally couldn't breathe," Brown told NBC News NBC News (along with NBC News + HD) is the news division of American television network NBC, a part of NBC Universal, which is majority-owned by General Electric. Its current president is Steve Capus. It is the top-rated broadcast news division and has been for a decade. . "It was very frightening." Kevin's co-workers turned to him to help. "They knew I was a volunteer firefighter and they called me over and I did the Heimlich, and I guess you could say I saved Mrs. Brown," Stephan told NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. . Kevin's mother was both proud of her son and amazed a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. by the link between the two events: "Oh, my goodness," she told Mrs. Brown. "You saved my son's life seven years ago, and now he's saved yours." Kevin responded to the drama pretty much like any typical teenager: "Wow. I couldn't believe it," he told a reporter for the Buffalo News. "Everyone I have told is like, 'No way.' They're in total disbelief." Getting more serious during the News interview, Kevin continued: "It's one of those things you can't explain. It was meant to happen. I'm Catholic, and I believe the Lord kind of set things up. They say things happen for a reason, and nothing is a coincidence." |
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