By Gordon Williams  

Beyond all the other good works it performs, the American Red Cross presents lifesaving awards to those whose quick thinking and timely actions in an emergency saved the lives of others. This story details the heroics of seven individuals — and the presentation of their awards at a ceremony at the Skagit Valley Family YMCA in Mount Vernon WA on November 30, 2023.  

Presenting the awards were Tatyana Kiselyov, Red Cross Training Services Regional Representative, and Betsy Robertson, interim executive director of the Red Cross Northwest Washington Chapter, which includes Skagit County. Host of the evening was YMCA executive Justin Davies.   

The Red Cross awards program began in 1911. Today the program embraces not one award but three — the Certificate of Merit (COM for short), the Lifesaving Award for Professional Responders, and the Certificate of Extraordinary Personal Action.  

Four individuals shared the Professional Responders award for actions that played out on the morning of April 11 in the YMCA pool — lifeguards Karl Martin and Kurt Von Pessler, Y membership director Chrystal Bullard and Y executive Davies.

The story began when Karl and Kurt were alerted that a swimmer was at the bottom of the shallow end of the pool. A second swimmer brought the unconscious person to the edge of the pool, where Karl and Kurt were waiting.  

Kurt helped pull the person out of the water while Karl retrieved a backboard in case it was needed. Once the person was out of the water, it was determined he was not breathing and showed no pulse. Karl radioed the front desk to call 911.

In fact, Chrystal had seen the event unfold on a security camera and had already called for help. Justin heard the request and rushed a defibrillator to the pool area.  

Karl and Kurt applied chest compressions while Justin attached the AED. EMS quickly arrived on the scene and took over the restorative measures. The patient was transported to a local hospital and eventually made a full recovery. In presenting the award, chapter executive Betsy Robertson cited the four winners for action that “exemplifies the highest degree of concern of one human being for another who is in distress.” 

One of the three winners of Certificate of Merit Awards was Y employee Christina Tuom, who saved a life in her own home.  

Christina and her husband were eating dinner when the husband began behaving peculiarly — leaping to his feet and spilling food over the table. Christina asked if he was choking. When he nodded yes she performed abdominal thrusts. Twice, food popped out of his mouth, only to slip back inside, choking him again. Christina managed to move her husband to the front  porch. There she showed him how to throw himself onto the porch railing. While he did that she called 911. Eventually, his thrusts against the railing succeeded, and the food flew out of his mouth.  

A second COM award was announced at the event though the recipient wasn't present to receive it. YMCA employee Stratton Brooks came to the rescue after witnessing an auto accident on a local Skagit highway. Stratton made sure bystanders called 911. He then helped remove the accident victim from his car and used his first aid skills to assess the victim's condition. Fearing a back injury, Stratton stabilized the victim’s spine and treated the victim for shock. He then kept the victim under close watch until advanced medical help arrived.  

The third COM recipient is Nathan Stout — 15  years old at the time — who learned his life-saving skills in a Red Cross class taught at the Skagit Valley Y. While on a bike ride with his family, Nathan came across a man who had collapsed on the sidewalk. Nathan told his sister to call 911 while he began applying CPR. Nathan’s mother says she offered to help but quickly realized her son had things under control. Because his family played a part in the rescue, they were awarded certificates to take a free First aid/CPR/AED course at the Y.  

The final award of the night went to Red Cross instructor Shawna Macauley — not herself a lifesaving hero, but a trainer of lifesavers. For her work in teaching lifesaving skills at the Y, Shawna won the Red Cross Lifesaving Instructor Award. In presenting the award, chapter executive Robertson called it “one of the highest awards given by the American Red Cross to instructors who teach the skills that help to save or sustain life.”  

In sum, a night that featured lives saved, heroes rewarded — and a demonstrated reason to one and all to learn lifesaving skills from the Red Cross. To learn more about lifesaving classes —perhaps becoming a hero yourself — visit the website at redcross.org/take-a-class/lifesaving.