Four-year-old Dakota holds tight to his brother Dane who saved his life a few months ago performing CPR.
"He stopped breathing; and then, I don't know, I just stayed calm and then performed what I learned in class," Dane Armbrustmacher said.
Every freshman at Fowler High School takes the two-day class each spring and then their skills are put to the test in a drill a few weeks later.
Four students take control while another calls 9-1-1. They perform compressions and use the automated external defibrillator to shock the victim, waiting for the EMTs to arrive.
"My heart was beating really fast, but then my actions just kind of took over. Because we had learned it, it made it a lot easier for me to understand what to do," explained freshman Madeline Veale.
The training was started five years ago by Angela Hufnagel, a Sparrow Clinton Hospital Nurse and Fowler graduate.
"Hands-on CPR takes less than 30 minutes to teach to these kids and it's a tool that empowers them to be lifesavers," she said.
Sadie Poole with the American Heart Association said performing CPR ahead of the EMTs arrival can triple survival rates, which is why they're backing legislation to ensure every high schooler has the training.
"We'd put another 100,000 lifesavers into our communities in Michigan every year," Poole said. "You never know who could need CPR. There usually aren't any warning signs. It could happen to very healthy people."
Like Dakota.
"I took two steps back because I knew that he could do it," Mom Julie Armbrustmacher said about her son Dane. "And, our life would be totally different right now if he wouldn't have taken that CPR class."
The House and Senate Education Committees are each working on CPR bills. They would require students between 7th and 12th grade to get hands-on training.
Right now, 29 other states have passed a similar law.
