May 17, 2021 I started a new job as a project coordinator. This my my first real career move (don’t hate me yet) while finishing my bachelors degree and this was a stepping stone, but a job I wanted to do well in.
Days 1-4 were uneventful. Lots of boring ‘training’ that wasn’t super helpful or relevant.
Then day 5 hit. 7:58am I walk in the door. 8am I’m sitting with my trainer and it was a normal morning. 8:02 hits and my coworker (also on day 5) mumbles ‘uhh guys, I need to sit down.. thump’, and hits the floor.
I direct my trainer to call 911 while I check for a pulse, but can’t find anything in the neck. I feel for her arm pulse (hindsight that was worthless lol but cut me some slack here). It’s dead ass silent, and I hear my other coworker from the office over ‘do you really need to call 911?’. Uhh, yeah.. that’s why I, the guy going on day 5, yelled it in an open office..
She’s agonal breathing and her face looks pretty fucked up. Eyes are shut (sometimes opening), bleeding from her lip, and legit foaming at the mouth. I’m kind of freezing.
My trainer goes ‘911 says we have to start cpr’ and puts her on speaker. I start to put my coworker in a flat position, then commit to it. I interlace my fingers, apologize to my coworker, and start thumping. Humming ‘staying alive’ to myself, while the office crowd gathers. I tell my other new coworker to go look for an AED, and to google it if you have to. My other coworker I tell to go outside and make sure the ambulance can find us (we’re in a back office).
I keep humming to myself, thinking about how fucking brutal this is. Is she already dead? Am I beating a dead corpse? Is this abusing her body? Fuck my back hurts. Why’s she kinda breathing (late I found out she was agonal breathing still). Fuck now my knees hurt. Why isn’t she waking up. ‘ Staying alive ’
Then I hear the dispatcher ‘IS ANYONE DOING CPR. START CPR NOW OR SHES NOT GOING TO MAKE IT. 1. 2. 3. 4. COUNT WITH ME’
I start counting and say ‘the counting isn’t helping. I’m doing cpr’
‘Fuck I’m beating a dead corpse.. no way she makes it’ but I keep beating to my humming.
After 8 minutes of hell, I hear the sirens in the parking lot. Tears start to form and I can’t really see. Just another few seconds, and I got the tap on the shoulder. I roll over and struggle to get up due to my knees hurting so bad. I burst into tears in front of my entire new office. Fuck me man, fuck. Everyone in the office is standing there staring. I got up and walked away to the park alone.
Mows a good time to mention she’s alive and well. Major Heart attack and she had surgery but she’s doing amazing. So that’s cool.
I think about this every, single, day.
So back to anti-work. After the incident, the 2 offices were told to go home for the day (good). I was told everyone’s getting cpr training (nice!). We were getting an AED (wow). The gal who went down is getting paid while she recovers (jeez, amazing considering you don’t have to).
I get an award and a pizza party (I kid you not..). They make a Facebook post about what they’re gonna do because they’re so amazing.
Guess what never happened. CPR training: Nope. AED: Yes. Coworker getting paid: Nahh.
I quit in December and joined a new company, and one that’s amazing. I have no need to be cpr certified for my job, but guess who paid for it? My new company.
Anywho, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. We’re just over a year since it happened, and every day I think about this incident, which makes me hate my last company even more.