Everyone at SCTCC knows that at the Library, anything can happen.
Even so, when Mary Jordan, the Librarian, started to feel woozy in front of a class, she was surprised. What she wasn’t surprised about was the response she got from the students.
“I've always said that our SCTCC students are great at so many things. And it was reassuring for me, when I was having a small emergency, to have a student—John—step up, unsolicited, to be helpful. He's demonstrating the best of what our students can accomplish!”
John Mitchell, a student in the history class that was visiting the Library, was busy working on a handout when he heard the instructor ask Jordan, “are you ok?”
“I started to pay attention at that point,” Mitchell said. “I noticed she was unsteady and leaning into the wall, and I already had my go-bag in my hand—I don’t even remember grabbing it out my backpack.”
Mitchell is an EMT and plans to enter the Paramedicine program this spring semester, so it’s no doubt he was ready when Jordan showed signs of needing medical attention. On his way to help her out, he was already thinking through the Glasgow Coma Scale and possible Myocardial Infraction indicators, essentially worst-case scenarios that involve an actively dying person.
“I was mentally preparing, knowing I was the only person present who could help prevent it,” he shared.
The good news was that Jordan could speak and identify herself, knew where she was, and knew what was going on. Everything physically looked good, and she had no indicators of shock or difficulty breathing. Her blood pressure, however, was a little low.
“Sinking gracefully to the floor is a great reminder to be more aware of eating breakfast when you are going to have a busy day! Take notes on that, everyone,” Jordan noted after the fact.
Mitchell stuck around for about a half an hour afterward just to make sure she was ok, then headed to class. He did check in later in the day to make sure she was doing better. Jordan was also touched that several students went out of their way later on to stop by and chat or email just to make sure she was ok.
“While it was basically a quick blip for me and not really a big deal, I was very impressed by the thoughtfulness our students showed,” Jordan said.
Thankfully, this scenario turned out well for everyone, and the Library was able to take part in some unexpected hands-on learning.