11-year-old Girl Scout learned CPR, used it to save dad's life days later

11-year-old Girl Scout learned CPR, used it to save dad's life days later
An 11-year-old girl learned how to do CPR from Girl Scouts, and then used it to save her father's life less than two weeks later.

11-year-old Vada Carawan was spending time with her father, Clinton, when he suddenly started feeling an intense pain in his chest.

"He kept saying that his chest hurt," Vada said. "He told me it was heart attack symptoms."

Mere moments after the pain began, Clinton collapsed to the ground and began to struggle. Vada quickly called 911.

"I told [the dispatcher] that my dad fell back," Vada said. "He's trying to gasp for air."

According to Dr. Deepak Talreja, Chief of Cardiology at Sentara Health, Clinton went into "sudden cardiac death."

"With sudden cardiac death, it's a sudden event," Dr. Talreja said. "It happens with no warning whatsoever, and a person just collapses to the ground with no heartbeat and no pulse, they're clinically dead."

Vada said she was very scared, but luckily she learned CPR at a Girl Scouts meeting just 11 days before her dad's emergency. Despite her fear, Vada immediately started chest compressions.

When asked how she stayed so calm, Vada said, "I didn't really think about it. I was just like, I need to save my dad's life. That's the main focus right now. Chest compressions, I need to do it. Once the EMT comes, then I can break down in tears."

Vada said the dispatcher counted the time between chest compressions for her, which she said she continued doing for over five minutes."

Dr. Talreja said that Vada's quick actions kept her father alive long enough for first responders to be able to save his life. He said that without her bravery, her father would have died.

Clinton professed his pride in his daughter, saying, "I tear up thinking about it every time. It's amazing. I just, I can't believe it to be honest with you."