His Dad Collapsed. This Fourth Grader Remembered His School CPR Lesson

Landin Colson sprang into action when he saw his father collapse in the yard. Then the fourth grader did something that surprised his mother: he began performing CPR. She had gone to call 911, and by the time she returned, her son was already helping his dad. In an October 2018 television interview, Landin and his mother explained what had happened that afternoon, and where he had learned the skill that helped him through a family emergency.

Meet Landin Colson

Landin Colson was a fairly typical schoolboy. His mother, Hope Hersey, his dad and his siblings all lived together in New Hampshire. The pictures show him on his bicycle and outside with his family. But it wasn't a school achievement or a sporting event that brought him to the attention of the local news. It was something that happened at home, in front of his mother. Hope hadn't expected her son to know what to do when his father suddenly needed help.

A Lesson Beyond the Usual Schoolwork

Landin was in the fourth grade at Simonds Elementary School in Warner. Along with his usual schoolwork, he and his classmates had received a lesson in CPR that year. It was one of the activities his teachers had made time for during the school day. For his mother, the value of that lesson became clear outside the classroom, at home. Her son remembered what he had been taught, even with his own father lying on the ground in front of him.

An Ordinary Day Outside

The family was spending time outside on a Saturday when Landin's father became unwell. They were in the yard, near a shed, with the children close by. Hope noticed something wrong and asked her husband if he was OK. He said yes. Within moments, she was hurrying over to him, and the children were running toward their dad. In her interview with the news crew afterward, Hope described the sudden change from asking that ordinary question to finding her husband unresponsive.

His Mother Noticed Something Was Wrong

Hope had been watching her husband and thought something wasn't right. She asked him about it, but his answer gave her no warning of what was coming. ‘I asked him if he was okay. He said “Yes,”’ she told the reporter. Then he fell against the edge of the shed. Landin and his siblings ran over to him. The family was together in the yard, so they saw what happened and were able to reach him as soon as he went down.

Beside the Shed

When Hope reached her husband, he wasn't responding. ‘My kids ran over, and he was unresponsive when I got to him,’ she said. Only a short time before, he had told her he was fine. Now she needed to get someone to the house to help him. She went to call emergency services, leaving Landin near his father. The boy was about to put his school lesson to use, without his mother standing beside him to tell him what to do.

Hope Called 911

As soon as Hope saw that her husband was unresponsive, she went to call 911. While she was getting help, Landin stayed with his dad. He remembered the CPR lesson from school and began helping him. When Hope came back, that was what she found her son doing. It was an unexpected sight for a mother already worried about her husband. The two of them had been doing different things during those moments: Hope was making the call, and Landin was tending to his father.

Landin Began CPR

With his father on the ground, Colson started performing CPR. His mother had gone to call for help, and when she returned, she found her son already at work. The sight of her child doing that astounded her. She hadn't expected to come back and see him helping in that way, or keeping so composed while he did it. Landin had learned CPR earlier that year, and he remembered the lesson. He continued until an officer responding to the call arrived and took over.

What He Said to His Dad

In his interview, Landin recalled talking to his father while he helped him. ‘I'm like, “Dad, stay with me. I know it's going to be OK. You're just going to go to the hospital, and I know you're going to be better someday,”’ he said. He was trying to reassure his dad in the middle of the emergency. Later, with his mother beside him, he could tell the reporter about those moments and repeat the words he had said in the yard.

Helping While They Waited

Landin's mother called 911, and he performed CPR while the family waited for help. His father was still on the ground beside the shed, where he had collapsed. Hope later described how composed her son had been. She hadn't expected him to know what to do, but he had remembered the lesson from school. An officer was on the way to the house and would take over when he arrived.

Calmer Than His Mother Expected

His mother was taken aback by the fact that Landin was able to administer CPR and keep his composure. ‘I have never seen this child as calm and cool and collected,’ she said. She believed he had done a great job in those frightening circumstances. ‘He was far more calm than I was,’ she added. In the interview afterward, Hope stood beside her son as they talked about the day. She had needed help for her husband, and her child had been there to give it.

An Officer Took Over

An officer who responded to the call arrived not long afterward and took over from Landin. The boy stepped back so the officer could continue helping his dad. Despite the collapse, the overall outlook for his father was believed to be positive. The television report said he was expected to be OK. Local police and firefighters also recognized Landin for the part he had played before the officer reached the family.

Where Had He Learned It?

Hope's surprise raises an obvious question: where had Landin learned what to do? He gave the answer himself in the interview. The lesson had been taught at school that year. It hadn't come from his mother coaching him through the emergency. She was making the call for help while he started. Landin was able to name the people who had taught him, as well as the place where he had learned. His school nurse and health and gym teacher had shown the students CPR.

Remembering the School Lesson

Colson learned CPR in school. He and his classmates at Simonds Elementary had been shown what to do by adults they already knew there. ‘My nurse and my health and gym teacher taught us how to do it,’ he explained. That lesson took place during the same year as his father's emergency. It had stayed with him. When Hope went to call 911, her son remembered what he had been taught and started helping his dad while they waited for someone to arrive.

His Mother Wanted Other Children to Learn

Colson's mother wanted other children to have the chance to learn what her son had been taught. She told the reporter she hoped every student in New Hampshire could learn CPR. Landin had received his lesson at school that year, from his nurse and health and gym teacher. Hope was speaking after seeing him help her husband at home. She believed other students should have the same opportunity before finding themselves in a situation like the one her family had faced.

What Landin Wanted to Be

Colson shared his hopes for the future with the reporter. One day, when he was older, he wanted to work as a doctor or a firefighter. For the moment, he was still a fourth grader at Simonds Elementary, where his nurse and health and gym teacher had taught him CPR. He had already found a use for their lesson outside school. His mother had watched him help his father, and now the local emergency services were recognizing him too.

Another Son Helped His Father

In February 2018, firefighter Paul Rowlands needed CPR after getting into trouble while kayaking off Anglesey, Wales. His son Joe, who was thirteen, helped him ashore and performed CPR. The RNLI described the incident in its account of the rescue. Lifeboat volunteers later brought the pair to safety. Like Landin, Joe had been with his father when something went wrong and had stepped in to help. The hospital picture here is illustrative; it doesn't show their kayaking rescue.

A Boy in Utah Remembered His Training

In another case, reported in March 2013, C.J. Saulsgiver helped his mother after she collapsed at their home in Roy, Utah. He heard her calling for him while he was downstairs with a friend. He called 911 and performed CPR before emergency responders arrived. Local reporting described the sound of a table moving across the floor before he heard his mother calling for him. He was twelve, and he had taken a CPR class a few months before the emergency.

Recognition From the Fire Department

C.J. had taken a CPR course with his parents a few months before his mother's emergency. Roy Fire Chief Jason Poulsen later recognized what he had done, presenting him with items from the department. The boy also had a birthday celebration at the fire station later that March. He had been downstairs with a friend when he heard his mother calling. Like Landin, he had learned a skill before he needed it, then remembered his training when a parent was in trouble.

‘I Think I'm a Hero’

Colson was praised by the police and fire service in his community for helping his father during the emergency. When the reporter asked whether he thought he was a hero, he had a short answer. ‘Yeah,’ he replied. ‘I think I'm a hero.’ His mother was beside him as he talked about the day and the words he had said to his dad. He had remembered the school lesson and put it to use. Now his family could tell the story with his father expected to recover.