WORK/LIFE
Be Prepared
A Scout troop, three lawyers, a priest, and a state senator save a life at a judicial investiture.
By Charles Spain
Upon hearing the Scout motto, “Be prepared,” someone asked Scouting
founder Robert Baden-Powell the inevitable follow-up question.
“Prepared for what?”
“Why, for any old thing,” he replied.
And that is what happened at my investiture as a justice on the
14th Court of Appeals in Houston. As an Eagle Scout and the current
scoutmaster of my son’s Scouts BSA troop, I asked the Scouts to
participate in my investiture by carrying the United States and Texas
flags and leading the pledges. The customary formalities
followed—introductions and testimonials on how I’d likely work out OK in
my new job, all leading up to the ceremonial administration of the oath
of office.
But that afternoon in the grand 1910 Harris County
Courthouse didn’t follow the program. Our troop chaplain, sitting in a
back row, had a cardiac arrest, quietly, except for the sound of his
foot falling. Any old thing, indeed.
A lawyer sitting in front
of him turned around, recognized something was wrong, and immediately
assisted. The Scout troop’s committee chair, who is trained in CPR,
noticed the unusual situation and went to help. A staff lawyer for the
court trained in CPR and automated external defibrillator use retrieved
an AED. The court clerk (a lawyer) called 911. A state senator who is a
pharmacist went to assist. A fellow priest prayed and spoke directly to
the chaplain while others tended to his body. Older Scouts helped by
clearing the area while CPR was performed and the AED was connected.
All of this happened rapidly and without overt coordination. These
people were trained and knew what to do. They were prepared. Many in the
courtroom didn’t initially understand what was happening. But if you,
like me, have had CPR/AED training, the sound of the AED instructing
“Preparing shock—move away from the patient,” will get your undivided
attention.
It all turned out OK. The troop chaplain was
transported to the hospital and now sports an implantable cardio-verter
defibrillator, or ICD, seemingly none the worse for the experience. But
had my friend been someplace else, the odds are fairly overwhelming that
he would have died. Who knew that judicial investitures save lives?
Being prepared makes all the difference. Knowing CPR, having an
AED, knowing where it is and how to use it, and calling 911 make all the
difference. Most of all, deciding to take action makes all the
difference.
One thanks people at an investiture. I especially
thank Houston Senior Assistant City Attorney Derek Bauman, troop
committee chair Susan Ballard, 14th Court Staff Attorney Nick Pavlov,
state Sen. Leticia Van de Putte (ret.), Clerk Chris Prine, the Rev. Lisa
Hunt, and the Scouts of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church’s Troop 511 for
both being prepared and taking action. Because of them and because
Harris County placed AEDs in the courthouse and the 1st and 14th Courts
of Appeals in Houston conducted CPR/AED training, the Rev. John Price is
alive and still makes horrible puns that make me groan—he has informed
me that the worst part of all this is that he can no longer tell a lie
as he has been defibbed.
See that AEDs are available in places
where you work or volunteer. Know the location of those AEDs. Get
trained in basic first aid/CPR/AED and encourage others to do so. Have a
plan.
Be prepared. For any old thing.TBJ
This article, which was originally published in The Houston
Lawyer, has been edited and reprinted with permission.
HON. CHARLES SPAIN
is a justice on the 14th Court of Appeals in Houston.
