Photos courtesy of Summerland Public School.
Each year, Mike Odell and Kendra Shrader, the SkillsUSA co-advisors at Summerland Public School, ask their students what new skill they want to learn and then help them find experts in the community to coach them. “This gives them information about a career without committing to a full year or semester,” says Shrader. Summerland is a small, rural K-12 school in Ewing, Neb. with 37 SkillsUSA members in grades 7–12, who meet after school.
During the 2023-24 school year, eighth grader Taelyn Nilson showed interest in learning CPR, so Odell and Shrader set up training with the school nurse. Nilson worked hard to learn the new skill and practiced a lot. In early 2024, she competed in her local SkillsUSA Job Skill Demonstration competition, where she demonstrated and explained CPR. She won first place and advanced to the 2024 SkillsUSA Nebraska state conference in April, earning a bronze medal in Job Skill Demonstration.
Nilson never expected that more than a year after that, as a high school freshman, she would use those same CPR skills to save an infant’s life. “At the time, I just thought it would make a good speech,” Nilson said.
The Story Unfolds
On Dec. 19, 2024, after a basketball game, Nilson headed home with her mom. While in her bedroom, she heard her mom scream for her older sister to call 911. Her mom had been feeding a baby who she had been taking care of, and it had suddenly stopped breathing. “The baby was already blue,” Nilson said. “I told my mom we needed to place her on the floor.” She checked for a pulse and there was none. Nilson recognized it as silent aspiration.
“I did child CPR for the SkillsUSA competition, so I remembered to use two fingers on an infant and keep the rhythm.” CPR experts often recommend timing compressions to songs with a 100-120 beats-per-minute tempo, such as the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” song. In her SkillsUSA demonstration, Nilson used Taylor Swifts’ “The Man” for rhythm, but in the heat of the moment, the lyrics escaped her. She started too fast, but then she quickly steadied herself and remembered the beat. “I was panicked, but I knew to stay calm from my speech.”
After a set of compressions and breaths, a sense of calm took over. Nilson’s mom estimated that her daughter completed four rounds of 30 compressions. “I kept thinking, ‘Arms straight, elbows locked, let the chest return.’ Everything I practiced in my speech,” Nilson said. When the baby began spitting up, Nilson continued with the compressions while her mom used a nasal aspirator to clear the airway.
Moments later, Ewing Fire and Rescue arrived. The baby remained in distress on the way to the hospital but stabilized once there before being airlifted to Omaha for further care. By New Year’s Eve, the baby was doing well.
“Taelyn was amazing,” said her mom. “So calm, so cool. I know she was nervous, but she knew exactly what she was doing.”
Shrader recalled how Nilson fine-tuned her presentation for months, with the school nurse providing guidance. Taelyn even included tips on using a defibrillator. Odell told her, “I’m proud of you. That was amazing. I don’t know how I would have handled it.”
Nilson, while speaking of the event weeks later, remained humble. “I just did what needed to be done,” she said.
Original story by LuAnn Schindler, The Summerland Advocate-Messenger.
