For Your Health: Would You Know How To Handle Someone’s Seizure?

December 10 was a day like any other for the Conservation and Forestry class at the Glenfield BOCES, with one exception.

When conservation instructor Kevin O’Neill (pictured) had a seizure while teaching in the woods, his students were not just there with him, they were there for him.

O’Neill had a non cancerous brain tumor removed in April and was being weaned off anti-seizure medication.

As a precaution, he told the students what to do in the unlikely event he had a seizure.

“I remember seeing three students walking through the woods and another three up on the road and that’s the last thing I remember,” said O’Neill.

O’Neill suffered a seizure. Student William King witnessed it.

“His eyes went flying up. He was laying on his back and he started trembling, so I ran over to him and by the time I got there he was stiff, his body had tensed up, he was turning purple. I laid him on his side and I grabbed his arms so he wouldn’t hurt himself,” said King.

The students called 911 and covered O’Neill with their jackets. They also timed his seizure.

Gerald Carter was the bus driver that day.

“They were just like a bunch of paramedics,” he said.

O’Neill will always be grateful to his students and he says since surviving this brain tumor, “every day is a gift” is the motto by which he lives.

“This group is a part of that gift. It’s a great group and I’m just glad to have them,” said O’Neill.

Comments

2 Responses to “For Your Health: Would You Know How To Handle Someone’s Seizure?”

Michael O'Neill on March 13th, 2008 2:02 pm

I think you did a wonderful job on the interview of the student who helped their teacher whiile having a seizure. The teacher in the article and video is my brother and our family is so thankful that he has such exceptional students in his class. Kevin was born in Brooklyn and moved at age 11 to Baldwin,NY.
It would be so great if your sister station Fox 5 New York could air this story as a lot of his family is still on Long Island. It is so nice to see a story with high school students in such a postive light . Thank you again
Please let me know if airing this on LI is possible
Pattie Jandrew on March 14th, 2008 2:57 pm

As an EMT-B I know 1st. hand what it is like and I think that hte students did very well and thank to thier teacher they listen to him and did as he explained.
They should have a class where they teach basic for first aid and so forth, so that the lay peerson knows what they can or can’t do.

Pattie