By Cristina Maisel

Helping his dad carry a heater upstairs was supposed to take just a few minutes. Thanksgiving was just a few days away and there were several chores to be done before the family gathered. Instead, Jeremiah Stepp acted on the training he had learned just weeks earlier.

“When we got inside, he told me to put it down,” Jeremiah said. “The second he put it down, he collapsed.”

At first, Jeremiah thought his father might be joking, something Michael Stepp was known to do. But within seconds, it became clear something was very wrong.

“He wasn’t breathing and wasn’t responsive,” Jeremiah said. “I went straight to work.”

Just weeks earlier, Jeremiah learned CPR in health class as a senior at Dauphin County Technical School. At the time, it felt like something to remember just in case; a skill he thought he should memorize so he’d be prepared if needed. That moment came just a few weeks later.

While his mother called 911, Jeremiah lowered his father to the floor and began chest compressions. He continued CPR until first responders arrived, keeping blood flowing during his father’s cardiac arrest.

“It was very tiring, but at the time, I wasn’t out of breath – I was just focused on my father,” Jeremiah said.

Michael Stepp doesn’t remember collapsing. In fact, he remembers very little from that day at all.

“I remember walking in the door, and that’s all I remember,” he said. “Then I lost a week and a half.”

But he knows what his son did for him.

“When I found out that Jeremiah had saved my life, as a father to a son, you couldn’t ask for a greater son,” Michael said. “Giving me an opportunity to live, just as I tried to give him an opportunity in life as well, there’s no greater son that I could have ever had.”

Despite being without a heartbeat for 25 minutes, Michael survived and recovered without lasting brain or organ damage. For him, the impact of Jeremiah’s actions is deeply personal.

“I love my son with all my heart, and he was my heart when I needed him to be,” he said.

In the weeks that followed, life returned to normal in the Stepp household – Michael, his wife Elizabeth, Jeremiah and his eight brothers and sisters. “I told him to just keep everything like it never happened, and he kept that promise,” Jeremiah said. Still, he knows the experience carries impact and purpose. “I’d love to tell more people about it and encourage others.”

That opportunity came when his school community gathered on March 31, 2026. In front of classmates, teachers and family, Jeremiah was honored by the American Red Cross with the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action. The recognition is part of the national Lifesaving Awards program, recognizing those who step up in emergencies to help save or sustain a life.

The presentation also became a moment to teach others the skills that can save lives. During the event, approximately 200 students were trained in Hands-Only CPR, a skill anyone can learn that involves chest compressions without any mouth-to-mouth contact.

“I believe Jeremiah is an inspiration for others to learn this critical thing that all of us should know in order to possibly extend the life of another, just as he gave me this opportunity to continue to live,” Michael said.

Each year in the United States, more than 350,000 cardiac arrests happen outside of hospitals, and about 70% happen in a home. That means the person who needs help is often someone you care about – a loved one, a family member or friend. During cardiac arrest, every minute without CPR and AED use reduces a person’s chance of survival by about 7% to 10%, but immediate CPR can double or even triple a person’s chance of survival. Every second counts and learning CPR can make a difference.

“I was fortunate where [my cardiac arrest] took place, as I was surrounded by other people,” Michael said. “I was with an individual who had been trained two to three weeks prior, so he knew what he was doing immediately upon the situation.”

For the Stepp family, that training made all the difference – a powerful reminder that being prepared can help save the life of someone you love. Sign up to learn lifesaving skills such as CPR, first aid and more at redcross.org/TakeAClass.