Student’s AED map saves man’s life

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:10 JST, August 24, 2022

The Tokyo Fire Department has presented a letter of appreciation to elementary school vice principal Masataka Hayashi, his pregnant wife Mihiro and their daughter Hizuki for saving the life of a worker who was renovating their home in Edogawa Ward, Tokyo.

According to the department, the 46-year-old worker suddenly lost consciousness and fell on the floor at about 6 p.m. on June 4 when he was working in the second-floor kitchen.

Hayashi, 50, had experience of cardiopulmonary arrest after completing a half-marathon. He started massaging the man’s heart immediately after making an emergency call. Mihiro, 37, ran out of the house barefoot and rushed to an apartment 120 meters away that had an automated external defibrillator (AED). Her quick actions were thanks to Hizuki, 9, who had made a map of nearby AED locations for a summer project when she was a first grade elementary school student.

Hizuki stayed on the first floor and guided paramedics to the second floor. The worker regained consciousness and survived.

“It felt good to give someone else the same help I received in the past,” Hayashi said. Hizuki commented, “I never thought that my project would be useful. I’m relieved that [the man] got better.”