It was only Yenedy Reys-Pardo’s second day as a student of Eisenhower High School, but she’d already made friends.
One of the sophomore’s new friends was in the school swimming pool with her during physical education class when something went wrong. Their teacher had instructed the class to swim to the far end of the pool, but when Yenedy turned around, she saw her friend was in distress in the middle of the pool.
“I immediately lifted her, raised her towards me and screamed for help,” Yenedy said.
It was an intervention that may have saved a life.
Yenedy had learned first aid skills in her native Colombia. That training emphasized “how essential it is to have immediate access to emergency help during these incidents,” she said through interpreter Cynthia Saldana, who also is a counselor at Eisenhower.
Saldana said Yenedy’s mother, Daiilyn Pardo, indicated she is extremely proud of her daughter.
The family is seeking asylum in the United States, a process that requires a series of court dates. But despite the upheaval and challenges of a new home in a place where she has to learn a new language, Yenedy has retained a positive attitude and inclination to help others, as well as a strong sense of civic responsibility, Pardo told Saldana.
“Even as a parent, I have learned so much from her internal strength,” Pardo said. “She is my most precious treasure.”
In Colombia Yenedy was involved in humanitarian organizations and she hopes to one day study medicine, her mother said.
Yenedy said it’s important to be ready to help when needed, but that’s especially true when the person who needs help is a new friend.
She said as a new student at Eisenhower, her friend, a freshman who speaks Spanish, “was very welcoming.”
That day in January, an undiagnosed susceptibility led to the freshman having a seizure in the swimming pool. After being alerted by Yenedy’s initial reaction, Eisenhower staff and students rushed to help.
“She got their attention very quickly and they were able to get her to the side and out of the pool and get her to safety,” said Maureen Featherstone, a school nurse who helped check her vital signs. “The reason she was okay is that they were able to get her out of the pool so quickly, call 911 and the paramedics were on their way.”
Featherstone said the incident could have ended tragically if Yenedy hadn’t acted so quickly.
Physical education teacher Dan Russell said his colleague Ray Vicario jumped into the pool to assist as soon as he realized what was happening.
“He handed her to me from the water and I pulled her out,” Russell said. “In my 10 years there, students have been in distress, but nothing close to this magnitude.”
The rescue process initiated by Yenedy escalated from there.
“At that point it was definitely nerve wracking, but I thought we all worked very well together as a team and took a situation that could have been really bad and turned it around,” Russell said.
Jennifer Serpe, a family and consumer sciences teacher, was in the hallway when she heard someone shout that a student was drowning. Another student had called 911, and Serpe detailed the situation to a dispatcher until emergency workers arrived.
“The way staff and students never hesitated to act or help out in any way they could embodies Eisenhower’s commitment to ensuring the well-being for everyone,” Serpe said. “I am so proud to be part of our Eisenhower community.”
Principal Benjamin Blakeley said he couldn’t be prouder of his staff and students and the way they banded together so quickly to help. Yenedy and the staff members involved gathered at a recent School District 18 School Board meeting, where they were lauded for their “heroic and life saving measures,” as stated on a plaque they were presented.
“I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to work alongside such thoughtful and caring individuals,” Blakeley said.
Janice Neumann is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
