Girl Scout saves dad days after learning CPR with her troop
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Vada Carawan was scared, but focused. The 11-year-old's father had just suffered a heart attack, and she was about to put her recent CPR training into practice. Vada's Virginia Beach Girl Scout troop had just learned CPR 11 days earlier, and in that moment late last month, with her father unresponsive and her dog upset, she channeled her energies into saving him. "Just put your mind to anything that you would want to do," Vada explained to Nexstar's WAVY, recounting the moment. "First, I was like, 'I don't know if I can do CPR,' but apparently, I can." And she did. "Of course, it was scary," Vada recalled. "And I started tearing up and I was like, 'What do I do?' Like, for a minute there, I was in complete shock. And then I was like, 'Heart attack ... heart attack, 911.'" At that point, it was all hands on deck to save his life. "Maggie, my dog, was freaking out," said Vada, who had just celebrated a birthday four days earlier. "She was trying to wake him up, like, put her paw on there, like trying to wake him up." Vada knew in that moment that she had to step in to help save her dad. It was an almost indescribable experience as she gave chest compressions to her dad while on the phone with a dispatcher. With the help of paramedics who arrived, they were all able to revive her dad and get his heart beating again before he was taken to the hospital. While her dad is still in the hospital, he is on the road to recovery. Vada Carawan, 11, has been credited with saving her dad's life. (WAVY) "It's kind of hard to put into words because it was so scary," Vada said. "I think I was a little weaker because it's not the same doing it on a dummy because it's not your dad." The CPR training came during her Girl Scout meeting. "I was actually the only person in my whole class to successfully save our dummy because when you do CPR, the dummy has lights, and if it's green, you're doing it correctly," Vada said. "Going deep enough and all that, and you have the right amount of strength." Vada's mom, Amanda Carawan, is proud of her daughter for her heroic actions. "She got to be his hero," Amanda told WAVY. "I was like, he's her hero every day, but you know, she got to be his hero this time." Vada's father is in the hospital recovering, and the family is raising money for his medical bills. And for all the other young kids out there, Vada said age is nothing but a number. Shoot for the stars. "I definitely don't think you're too young for anything," Vada said. "I think you can accomplish anything you put your mind to." And she proved that her actions could help save a life. Not just any life: her dad's.
VENN
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Vada Carawan was scared, but focused.
The 11-year-old's father had just suffered a heart attack, and she was about to put her recent CPR training into practice.
Vada's Virginia Beach Girl Scout troop had just learned CPR 11 days earlier, and in that moment late last month, with her father unresponsive and her dog upset, she channeled her energies into saving him.
"Just put your mind to anything that you would want to do," Vada explained to Nexstar's WAVY, recounting the moment. "First, I was like, 'I don't know if I can do CPR,' but apparently, I can."
And she did.
"Of course, it was scary," Vada recalled. "And I started tearing up and I was like, 'What do I do?' Like, for a minute there, I was in complete shock. And then I was like, 'Heart attack ... heart attack, 911.'"
At that point, it was all hands on deck to save his life.
"Maggie, my dog, was freaking out," said Vada, who had just celebrated a birthday four days earlier. "She was trying to wake him up, like, put her paw on there, like trying to wake him up."
Vada knew in that moment that she had to step in to help save her dad. It was an almost indescribable experience as she gave chest compressions to her dad while on the phone with a dispatcher.
With the help of paramedics who arrived, they were all able to revive her dad and get his heart beating again before he was taken to the hospital. While her dad is still in the hospital, he is on the road to recovery.
Vada Carawan, 11, has been credited with saving her dad's life. (WAVY)
"It's kind of hard to put into words because it was so scary," Vada said. "I think I was a little weaker because it's not the same doing it on a dummy because it's not your dad."
The CPR training came during her Girl Scout meeting.
"I was actually the only person in my whole class to successfully save our dummy because when you do CPR, the dummy has lights, and if it's green, you're doing it correctly," Vada said. "Going deep enough and all that, and you have the right amount of strength."
Vada's mom, Amanda Carawan, is proud of her daughter for her heroic actions.
"She got to be his hero," Amanda told WAVY. "I was like, he's her hero every day, but you know, she got to be his hero this time."
Vada's father is in the hospital recovering, and the family is raising money for his medical bills.
And for all the other young kids out there, Vada said age is nothing but a number. Shoot for the stars.
"I definitely don't think you're too young for anything," Vada said. "I think you can accomplish anything you put your mind to."
And she proved that her actions could help save a life.
Not just any life: her dad's.
