A dad from Indiana saved his daughter’s life after he deployed CPR he gleamed from watching the NBC sitcomThe Office.
Matt Uber, 46, from Carmel, opened up about the terrifying moment, saying he needed to act quickly to save his four-year-old daughter Vera Posey.
The cause was an unexpected cardiac arrest that came on during a game of tag. He was able to save her thanks to Steve Carrell, who played beloved character Michael Scott, learning how to do CPR on the show.
Mr Uber told Fox News, “She was giggling, laughing and chasing me and then it went quiet. I turned around and she was on the ground.”
Mr Uber had no clue what had actually happened to Vera Posey, telling the news outlet, “I thought she had bumped her head … when I got to her she was limp.”
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Mr Uber asked his 16-year-old daughter to call an ambulance, then he got a flash of the season five episode of the The Office, titled “Stress Relief”.
In the episode, an instructor comes to teach the workforce of Dunder Mifflin how to do CPR, telling them to keep in mind The Bee Gees’ 1970s hit Stayin’ Alive as they perform the procedure.
“I said to myself, ‘What do I know about CPR? I don’t have formal training,’” Mr Uber said. “In that panic moment, I just thought of that scene from The Office, as crazy as it was. I had to be doing something to keep this lifeless little body alive.”
He said he managed to hold on, with help from a responder on the other end of the phone, until paramedics arrived. Mr Uber said that he conducted CPR for nearly five minutes before medical professionals at the scene.
Mr Uber said, “The chances of her survival were very slim.”
Doctors carried out tests on Vera, and she was later diagnosed with calmodulinopathy, a rare syndrome. Vera was given an operation to insert a cardioverter-defibrillator that will be able to regulate her heart.
Mr Uber wants his experience with CPR to push other people to get trained in the often life-saving technique.
He reported that Vera is still recovering and his family is incredibly grateful she made it through the ordeal.
“We are incredibly lucky. She’s an active little four year old,” he said of his youngest daughter.
