15-year-old Lewis Griffith, from the North Bay area of San Francisco, said: “I’ve never been to the Rose Bowl Parade and now I’m gonna be IN the Rose Parade.” He had his father, Steve, will be traveling to Pasadena this weekend to ride in a special float for young heroes and the loved ones whose lives they saved.
The float they will be riding on is called “Keep the Beat Alive,” and it will feature young heroes who administered CPR to save a loved one’s life.
Two years ago, Lewis was watching TV at home when he saw his father collapsed outside while doing some carpentry work. “I saw him lying on the ground lifeless,” said Lewis. Steve’s heart had stopped, it was full cardiac arrest. Lewis’ mother, Elizabeth, got intstructions from 911. The operator asked, “Does someone there know how to do CPR?”
Lewis replied right away, “I can do that.” Steve would later say Lewis’ response would be his heroic phrase for the ages for his life.
Lewis’ parents had no idea that he could do CPR. He explained that he learned it in the 7thgrade at Forestview Academy in a mandatory class. Lewis worked with his dad all by himself for 5 to 6 minutes doing CPR.
His father’s life was saved!
Since that day, Steve and Lewis have been spokespeople for CPR Awareness. They both helped lobby for a California law requiring high school students to learn CPR before they graduate. Lewis says, “CPR is really important thing to learn because you never know when it can help.”
- Rich Stevenson, GladWire.com