Jim Lowrey has a family of lifesavers.
“I’m the luckiest person who could have this happen to them,” said the Hermosa Beach resident. “It couldn’t have gotten any better.”
Brothers James and Jackson Lowrey’s CPR training swiftly kicked in last September, when their father, Jim, went into cardiac arrest and fell unconscious at his home while on the phone with his wife.
James, 15, launched into the process that he and his brother learned as Junior Lifeguards through the Los Angeles County Fire Department. After briefly talking with his mom, Nicola, on the phone, Jackson, 13, called 911 while she dashed home.
The family teamwork to save dad continued until paramedics arrived from Hermosa Beach’s Fire Station 100, according to a press release.
Jim Lowrey recovered — largely because of his family’s efforts.
James and Jackson were honored by the city of Hermosa Beach and the Los Angeles County Fire Department at the city’s Jan. 10 council meeting.
Anthony Marrone, acting LACF Chief, said Jackson and James exemplify the department’s “values of caring, courage and teamwork.”
“Most people may freeze, not know what to do at that moment, but James and Jackson knew exactly what needed to be done because they have the skills the instincts and the training that came from their years as Junior Lifeguards,” Marrone said.
James said his father was walking up their stairs, with Jackson nearby, when he suddenly fell.
“He landed on his back, his arms were tense, very tense, and he was just looking up at the ceiling, but like he wasn’t looking up, like he was just stuck there,” James said.
“We figured out in a couple of seconds he was having a heart attack,” James said.
James said his mother was on the phone with his father when he collapsed and she said to call 911.
While James performed CPR, Jackson called the emergency line and their mother darted home, “probably faster than she’s ever run.”
“Then she took over for me doing CPR until the medics came,” James said.
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Jim said he does not remember what happened during the episode. He was unconscious for 27 minutes, first responders said.
He was given four defibrillator shocks to his heart by paramedics.
Dad feels 100% now, but is unable to drive because his particular cardiac arrest was “idiopathic” — without warning. Doctors, he said, are unsure if it will ever happen again, so it’s best to stay out if the driver’s seat.
Jim said he can work, exercise and spend time with his family — largely thanks to his “stand-up kids.”
“Once it went bad, it couldn’t have gone any better. And that’s due to the actions of Jason, Jack(son), and then Nicola and then the fire department.”
“When the opportunity came up,” Jim said of his sons, “they had the preparation,”