The Scouting America motto is “Prepared. For Life.” And three McLean scouts proved just how important that is.
Last March, Longfellow Middle School students Davin Lee, 13, Raphael Loosen, 12, and Avi Yoshimizu, 13, put their classroom CPR training to the ultimate test — saving the life of a parent during a troop outing.
The three boys, then in seventh grade, were with their troop in Lorton. They were about halfway through a five-mile ride to earn a mountain biking merit badge. The group was on the side of the road resting when Lee’s father, Laurent, suddenly collapsed.
“It was a total surprise,” says Davin’s dad, Laurent Lee, who has no history of cardiac issues.
When Lee collapsed, Scouting America merit badge counselor Douglas Johnson couldn’t detect that he was breathing. Another adult leader checked his pulse — there was none.
While Yoshimizu comforted Davin (as he watched his father in distress), Loosen sprang into action. His mom, also at the scene, was already on the phone with 911, but he remembered his CPR lessons from school.
“He said, ‘Mom, I can do this,’” says Verena Biesold, Rafael’s mom. “I said, ‘What? You can do this? You learned this at Boy Scouts?’ and he was like, ‘No, I learned this at school last week.’”
Lifesaving Learning
Just one week before, the boys had been trained by Gwyneth’s Gift, a Fredericksburg-based nonprofit that teaches hands-only CPR and AED use in schools.
“We practiced on a dummy,” Loosen says. “You have to put the palm of the bottom of your hand, you have to push that two inches deep into the middle of the chest. You have to do that a lot during a minute, 100 to 120 times.”
Loosen and several of the adults present continued CPR for about nine minutes until paramedics arrived.
The effort worked. As it turned out, Lee had experienced cardiac arrest, with 90 percent blockage in an artery. Doctors later told the family his odds of survival were less than 5 percent, but remarkably, he has made a complete recovery.
“They were incredibly courageous, calm, and they worked as a team and took action right away,” says Lee. “Without their actions, I wouldn’t be here.”
A Heart Safe School
“The fact that we have three great young men, as part of the scout event, were able to help save someone’s life is outstanding,” says Longfellow Middle School Principal Christina Butzer. “It just goes to show you the importance of our continual efforts to make sure we keep this program in school.”
The CPR training takes place for two days every year in the school. Thanks to their annual instruction, Longfellow became Fairfax County’s first Heart Safe school in 2019, equipped with four defibrillators and more than 1,000 students trained.
Feature image of left to right, Davin Lee, Raphael Loosen, and Avi Yoshimizu courtesy Karen Bolt/FCPS
