A high school student in Northwest Miami-Dade was honored at a surprise ceremony at his school on Monday after he saved his father’s life.
Jackson Suarez, a student at Mater Lakes Academy Middle/High School, found his father, Hector Suarez, not breathing during a workday in July. Jackson said his father was lying on the ground, turning pink, with his eyes open but not focused on him. He began CPR. Hector, who attended the ceremony, said he does not remember the episode and described it simply: he collapsed, and his son saved him.
Jackson learned the skills through a first responder program at the school, which his teacher Christopher Wydra helped set up. Wydra surprised Jackson with a plaque bearing his father’s heartbeat, along with wording Hector wrote.
Jackson’s mother said she hopes other schools will teach CPR, arguing that every child should learn it as part of the curriculum. Wydra said the school has between 150 and 200 students and staff members with CPR certifications.
