Williamsville student saved by quick actions of fellow students, staff

Amherst, N.Y. (WBEN) - It was late in the school day back on May 21 when Ian Toutounji was taking part in his physical education class outside at Williamsville South High School. As Toutounji was running to third base during a class activity, he instantly collapsed to the turf and went into cardiac arrest.

It was then the quick actions of students and staff alike to recognize the situation Toutounji was in, and commence interventions within a minute of his collapse.

"Remarkable - the response, the fast thinking, the calm thinking, the skill set, the interventions - and truly that's what you want in an emergency situation, to quickly intervene," said Williamsville District Medical Director, Christine Hall. "Every second, every minute is of the essence. So rapid response, and literally got the AED, shocked him four times, continued their CPR, and did everything until the paramedics and EMS arrived."

In the roughly 10 minutes between when Toutounji collapsed and paramedics arrived on scene, a team of students, teachers and a school nurse went to work to safe the 14-year-old.

Thanks to the combined efforts of that group, Toutounji was able to not only live, but be on-hand Tuesday to personally thank everyone for their efforts:

Ryan Hayes - Physical Education Teacher
Travis Denman - Physical Education Teacher
Sandy Pennella - Registered Nurse/School nurse
Patrick Lester- Assistant Principal/Athletic Director
Cruz Ramos - Student/Certified Lifeguard, 10th grader
Daniel Girzone - Student/Volunteer Fireman and EMT, 12th grader

"I don't remember much of my cardiac arrest, but I know that Coach Denman, Mr. Hayes, Mrs. Pennella, Mr. Lester, Daniel and Cruz saved my life. And I just want to say that I'm very thankful for them, and I'm happy to be here today," said Toutounji during Tuesday's ceremony at the district's main offices in Amherst.

Hall says it was an effort of the right people at the right time, at the right place who had the right training to save Toutounji's life.

"Really, knowledge is power. We really look for our AEDs to be accessible, we want them to be used. We hope we never have to use them, but that's why they're there, and this is why they are there to truly save a life. We are so grateful to have Ian with us," said Hall with WBEN.

Dr. Rebecca Pratt, pediatric cardiologist at Golisano Children's Hospital of Buffalo, says Toutounji is with us today because of the life-saving bystander CPR that he got immediately after his collapse.

"The fact that our team here was able to go through the video footage, to go through step-by-step, 'Here's what happened,' and that our nurse practitioner here, Christine Hall, was able to go through and when I said, 'I need that AED, so I can get the rhythm strips off of that.' Because that AED, along with the team here, saved his life. That is really what was critical for Ian," said Pratt in an interview with WBEN.

Williamsville South High School principal Keith Boardman commends the actions of Ramos and Girzone for their willingness to spring into action and quick thinking in order to save Toutounji's life.

"To have students who are willing to jump in and act really in a heroic way, when they see a fellow student who has had this medical incident is absolutely amazing. We can't say enough about the students and the staff who were there, who worked together and really helped to save Ian's life," Boardman said. "And Ian, I can't say enough. I mean, here he is, he's back at school. My guess is he's going to be pushing his mom to play baseball earlier than that, and they're going to be holding him back as much as possible to make sure, if he's anything like I was at that age, he's ready to go. We're so thankful to have him back at school, and I know this is something that certainly has affected everybody in this room, both personally and professionally."

Whether it was just simply a coincidence or divine intervention, Boardman pointed out something in this year's yearbook at Williamsville South that is now very fitting for Girzone.

""It was created well before and finished well before any of this happened on May 21. But Dan Girzone is a senior, his senior superlative was 'Most likely to save a life.' We've joked that we think we need to correct this, he already did it," Boardman said.

Being a volunteer firefighter and an EMT with Swarmville Fire Company, Girzone admits he sees these situations unfold quite regularly. But even he admits nothing prepares anyone for how this situation went down.

"For me, being in that state of mind of, 'I'm going to my lacrosse practice' to then having to spring into action and help Ian, I am very proud and very happy to see Ian here. That is something that one of the best feelings of my life is getting to see him standing here today, and knowing that that work paid off," Girzone said.

In the moment, Girzone said he didn't have time to feel much of anything, because the training he received as an EMT kicked in, and he did what he was trained to do.

"After the fact, then I took a step back and was like, 'Holy crap.' It was a weird feeling," he admitted. "It doesn't matter if it's a student or a teacher, or some random person on the sidewalk. You just got to do what you got to do to get that outcome and help save their life."

Hall says the Williamsville school district does several CPR and AED trainings over the course of the year, and it's that training and accessibility to AEDs that's so critical and important to help save a life.

"Literally, as we do trainings, we talk about this can happen anywhere, anytime to anyone. And really having people understand what they can do while we wait for emergency response is, literally, life-saving," she said. "So we want that immediate response and for people to have that training to back up, and have that knowledge so that they are there to intervene properly and quickly."

Hall adds the district will continue efforts to make training available not just for faculty and staff, but for students as well.

"We've trained for many years, we will continue to offer trainings, enhance our training. Give people the opportunity to really understand what it means to save a life, how to do that, how to respond immediately while we wait for emergency personnel to arrive. And we will just continue to grow and do better," she said. "I know this family is fully behind advocacy and building awareness, and we hope to continue that with the family, and really use your situation and your story to help that process and that response that's so important."

Lindsey Toutounji, Ian's mom, knows very well how fortunate her family is that CPR and AED awareness helped save her son's life.

"Most teenagers actually do pass away from cardiac arrest if they're in a setting where these things are not accessible. Back in 2001, a little 5-year-old, Madison McCarthy - she attended Southtowns Catholic at the time - was in school, and they did not have AEDs back then. Her parents advocated for AEDs in schools, and their advocacy saved Ian's life, and many more students to come," Lindsey said. "We are very fortunate, and I'm hopeful that with more training and AEDs being accessible in more places, many more families will be as fortunate as we have been."

As for Ian, he is doing well and is back at school, but is still going to cardiac physical therapy.

"Once his ICD has healed for another month or so, he'll be back riding his bike with his friends, playing baseball, and golfing this summer," Lindsey said. "We are eternally grateful, and looking forward to a lifetime of memories, adventures, and fun with our boy."

Ian Toutounji went into cardiac arrest while at school at Williamsville South High School back on May 21
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Williamsville student saved by quick actions of fellow students, staff

Ian Toutounji went into cardiac arrest while at school at Williamsville South High School back on May 21wben-amall-locallocal-newswilliamsvillewilliamsville-central-school-districtcpraedcardiac-arrest

Ian Toutounji went into cardiac arrest while at school at Williamsville South High School back on May 21wben-amall-locallocal-newswilliamsvillewilliamsville-central-school-districtcpraedcardiac-arrest

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Ian Toutounji went into cardiac arrest while at school at Williamsville South High School back on May 21
wben-am all-local local-news williamsville williamsville-central-school-district cpr aed cardiac-arrest

Ian Toutounji went into cardiac arrest while at school at Williamsville South High School back on May 21
wben-am all-local local-news williamsville williamsville-central-school-district cpr aed cardiac-arrest