Watching Grey’s Anatomy Saves Lives

So this is sort of a cute, but terribly unfortunate, story: a mother of three from Sheboygan, Wisconsin had her life saved because her 10-year old daughter and her friend watch Grey’s Anatomy. Kandace Seyferth suffered from a sever asthma attack on Nov. 25. Her daughter, Madisyn, dialed 911 and began delivering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation while her 12-year old friend, Katelynn Vreeke, performed chest compressions. Later, the two explained they learned to do these procedures from watching Grey’s Anatomy.

ABC News reported the story; no doubt very pleased a series on ABC was what ended up as the saving factor. Kandace Seyferth explained their family watches the series every week. When paramedics arrived, they were impressed the little girls knew what to do despite no proper training. I’m impressed as well, and I’m very glad they pay that close attention to a medical drama. According to the fire chief Jeff Hermann, Seyferth might have been in more trouble had the girls not worked as quickly as they did.

Obviously this is a very positive story, and I in no way want to take away any joy from this. But I can’t help but point out how unfortunate it is that children can learn to do something as important as give CPR from watching television. As cool as it is, what if a child decided he knew how to handle a gun because he’s watched a lot of CSI? Just something to think about. Congratulations to Madisyn and Katelynn for saving the day.