A North Texas newlywed was on his honeymoon when he stopped to save a life. Here's this week's KRLD Difference Maker.
Chris Alban was on his honeymoon with his wife at a resort in Mexico. He, his wife, and some friends were in the pool.
"There was a lady who bumped into one of our friends that was standing next to me and I thought, 'Well, that's kind of odd for an adult to swim into the back of someone,' Chris said. "You expect it from a kid but not usually from an adult. It kind of set off my alert senses."
As the Aquatics Supervisor for several pool facilities in Plano, Chris had been trained for this exact situation.
"At that point, I called out to her, 'Hey, take a breath!' because she was face down in the water," Chris said. "After I said it three times and she didn't respond, my wife grabbed her wrist and when I noticed she didn't make any sort of movement, I grabbed and rolled her over. She had blue lips, blue hands, foam in the mouth and I was like, 'We've got to get her out."
Chris sprung into action and moved her to the nearest exit and laid her down on the deck. As he was getting ready to perform CPR, her eyes cracked open and she began breathing again. He put her in a recovery position and monitored her vitals until paramedics arrived and took over.
He spotted the woman around the resort the next day.
"I'm good with knowing that she's alive, breathing and she can have fun on this trip with her husband," Chris said.
Back home in Plano, Chris was celebrated for his efforts by the American Red Cross, which gave him the Certificate of Merit. The Certificate of Merit is the highest award given by the American Red Cross to an individual who saves or sustains life by using skills and knowledge learned in the American Red Cross Training Services.
"They set it up at our city council meeting so it was a pretty cool experience to get the applause and recognition from city officials and our local community that I work for," Chris said. "This was the first time I've ever had a breathing emergency, where if we didn't respond any faster it probably wouldn't have come out the same way...It was nice to have a positive outcome for sure."
We're proud to call Chris Alban this weeks KRLD Difference Maker.
If you know someone making a difference in the community, send us an email at differencemaker@krld.com.
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