Wife saves husband with CPR from free Doña Ana County event

A woman saved her husband’s life by using basic emergency training she learned at a Doña Ana County event.

Christine Telles, 72, said her husband, Sal Telles, 73, has been experiencing some medical conditions that require a lot of attention. She said she took the free, two-hour “Save a Life Saturday” class because it had been over 10 years since she learned CPR.

Four months after taking the class, Christine Telles said her husband experienced a medical issue that caused him to collapse.

Christine Telles said her husband wasn’t breathing, unresponsive and had no pulse when she called 911. After confirming with the dispatcher that she knew CPR, Telles went quickly began compressions.

“(The dispatcher) was instructing me on what to do, but I could hear (the Save a Life Saturday instructor’s) voice in the background telling me what to do,” Telles said. “He started to respond, and that’s when I realized we’re on the right track.”

She performed chest compressions for around five minutes when Doña Ana Fire Rescue crews arrived. Her husband was transported to a hospital and made a full recovery.

“A two-hour class can have your husband’s life, your kid’s life or someone else’s life,” Telles said.

The ‘Save a Life Saturday’ event is a free and annual event held each February in recognition of American Heart Month, according to Doña Ana County. The program is hosted at several community resource centers across the county and teaches hands-only CPR.

Doña Ana County’s Deputy Emergency Manager, Joy Chavez, says Telles’ story reflects the purpose of the class.

“To hear Christine share her experience was incredibly emotional,” Chavez said. “This is exactly the impact we hope for, that someone is able to use this training to save a life.”

The event is organized by the Doña Ana County Office of Emergency Management, with support from Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine, the American Red Cross, City of Las Cruces and City of Sunland Park.