“I used to be called ‘Big Mo,’” Maurice “Big Mo” Trosclair said. “Now they call me ‘Miracle Mo’, and I have the story to back it up.”

Last February, the local musician collapsed from cardiac arrest in the elevator at the Premier Fitness in Metairie, Louisiana. Premier Fitness general manager and Red Cross volunteer Roy Fontnell, with the assistance of others, was able to save Trosclair by successfully performing CPR and using an automated external defibrillator (AED).

“We were informed that a member had passed out in the elevator,” Fontnell said. “When we realized he was unconscious, two people began rotating performing CPR on him and I came down with the AED kit. I gave him a shock to start his heart back up and continued CPR until the emergency vehicles came.”

Fontnell, a long-time employee in the health and fitness industry, understands the importance of proper CPR and AED training. Fontnell first became a Red Cross volunteer in 2012 when he took his first Red Cross CPR and AED training course. He returns every two years to renew his CPR certification.

“Every class I’ve taken has been with the Red Cross,” Fontnell said. “It’s definitely great to have that knowledge, and I’m just extremely grateful that myself and other people knew how to handle it.”

Premier Fitness employee Katelyn Reis, who assisted the effort, witnessed first hand the life-saving difference of having proper emergency training. “If Roy hadn’t gotten the AED when he did, I’m not sure [Trosclair] would have made it,” she said.    

The difference between having CPR and AED training was, in Trosclair’s case, literally life and death. The knowledge and immediate action taken by Fontnell and others saved Trosclair’s life, and he could not be more grateful.

“I would not be here today if not for everyone’s effort,” Trosclair said. “It’s not the case that everyone in an emergency situation is provided with CPR and AED assistance. I just can’t thank those people enough for saving my life.”

The Red Cross offers a variety of first aid, CPR, AED and other health and safety training classes all over the state of Louisiana. To sign up go to www.RedCross.org/TakeaClass.