Teacher’s Life Saved by CPR and AED at Horseshoe Bend School

On the morning of February 18, 2025, what started as a normal school day quickly turned into a life-or-death emergency at Horseshoe Bend School in New Site, Alabama. Fourth-grade teacher Kelly Locke had just arrived to prepare for her students when she suddenly collapsed behind her desk from a sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

A quick-thinking student witnessed the incident and ran for help. School nurse Mercedes Dunham rushed to the scene, found Mrs. Locke unresponsive and without a pulse, and immediately activated the school’s crisis response team. A coworker called 911, and someone was sent to retrieve the school’s ZOLL AED.

Nurse Mercedes and team members Coach Thomas Brown, Sawyer Milam, Erica Meigs, Brannon Carroll, Johnathan Anderson, Austin Teel, and Autumn Kinder began CPR and used the AED to deliver two life-saving shocks. After approximately seven minutes, Mrs. Locke’s pulse returned.

EMS transported her to Grandview Hospital in Birmingham, where doctors determined she had experienced both a seizure and a heart attack. A heart catheterization revealed a 90% blockage in her LAD artery—commonly called the “widow maker.” Thanks to the quick response and defibrillation, she suffered no brain or heart damage. A stent was placed, and Mrs. Locke has since returned home and is recovering well.

I’m so thankful our school invested in a ZOLL AED—it saved my life.

Kelly Locke,
SCA Survivor

This incredible rescue underscores the critical importance of AED access and CPR training in schools. The school’s ZOLL AED was placed in 2022, and they continue to invest in their program annually to ensure AEDs are readily available across campus. Nurse Tammy Templeton, the Lead School Nurse, has been spearheading their program from the beginning. Her commitment to this program is one of the many reasons everything went right that day.