TAMU student on saving rodeo attendee's life: 'I just do exactly what training taught me'

A Texas A&M University (TAMU) student performed an act of heroism during the just concluded Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo (HLSR), according to a report from Houston FOX affiliate KRIV. 

Twenty-year-old Ryan Vu came to the aid of an attendee who was experiencing seizure-like symptoms on the third to last day of the Bayou City’s signature late winter event.

KRIV reported that Vu, who served as a volunteer at the rodeo’s health clinic, credited his first responder and first aid training for assisting the man.

When a fellow volunteer told Vu that the attendee had no pulse, the station reported, he quickly retrieved an automated external defibrillator (AED).

"I just do exactly what training taught me … And we did compressions for a little bit,” the Tomball native, who admitted that he never used the device on anyone before, recalled.

Per KRIV, Vu’s actions helped restore the man’s breathing. Vu told the station that he emerged out of the situation “more prepared” to help others in a similar situation.

“I think it's just doing my duty, and doing what I need to do,” he said.

Vu, a community health major with his sights on enrolling in TAMU’s nursing program, hasn’t spoken directly to his patient or the man’s family, but has heard he’s recovering nicely, KRIV reported. 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)’s website said that approximately 10% of people will suffer from a seizure in his or her lifetime. 

According to the CDC, seizures don’t normally require emergency medical attention, but 911 should be called if the patient suffered a seizure for the first time, has difficulty breathing or is experiencing an episode that lasts more than five minutes.