HAZLETON -- A teenager in Luzerne County is very uncomfortable with the term hero and says what he did the night his dad stopped breathing wasn't a big deal. But his parents would beg to differ and are now talking about the importance of knowing CPR.
Daniel Lozano, 14, doesn't know what all the fuss is about. The eighth grader from Hazleton acted fast when, early one morning in late December, he suddenly heard commotion coming from his parents' room.
"I heard my mother screaming my dad's name and I opened the door to see what was going on," he recalled.
Mirian Lozano woke up to hear her husband Francisco making strange noises, gasping for air. She says she called 911, but then just froze in fear. That's when Daniel walked in.
"He was very calm and tells me, 'Mom, calm down, he's not breathing. Let's do CPR,'" Mirian said.
Daniel started chest compressions on his father -- he doesn't know how long -- just a few minutes until the ambulance arrived.
His mother had no idea he even knew CPR and neither did he.
"I didn't have any formal education. I just kind of saw it on TV and then replicated it," said Daniel.
Formal training or not, Paul Mendofik at the American Red Cross says Daniel did the right thing.
"Compressions are critical because we want to get oxygenated blood into the organs, including the brain, to sustain life as long as possible until the next level of necessary care arrives."
Mendofik is a training specialist at the Red Cross near Wilkes-Barre. When we stopped by, there was a CPR certification class going on. He notes there are many different classes available and recommends that everybody get certified.
Mirian Lozano says she now wants to be certified after what happened to Francisco, just 45 years old and with no pre-existing medical conditions that he knows of.
Doctors at Lehigh Valley Hospital told him he'd gone into cardiac arrest, and that his full recovery wouldn't have been possible without the quick actions of his son.
"Very glad that Daniel was God-sent and at the right moment when we needed him the most," said Mirian.
"I'm very lucky," said Francisco. "God bless you, my son. I'm very happy."
Red Cross officials say there are CPR and first aid classes specifically for families, some for the workplace, and some classes online. There are a variety of ways to do it.
