Future nurses get real-life training when man has seizure at college

ROCKFORD — To John McWeeny’s recollection, he simply dropped off to sleep while doing music research at Rockford College’s Howard Colman Library.

He doesn’t remember anything about the seizure that wracked his body on April 26 and alarmed a student whose attempts to rouse McWeeny alerted a study group of three of the college’s nursing students who sprang into action to help him. He met and thanked them for their work Thursday at the library.

Junior students Rachel Piche, of Rockford, Amanda Carr, of Crystal Lake, and Kara Kenyon, of Marengo, who said their studies mean they virtually live in the library said it was about the last place they expected to have to use their training.

“We heard the student asking him, ‘Sir, are you all right’ so we went over and he was seizing,” Kenyon said. “He was starting to gag a little bit, and he was at a table and couch. We were concerned about him falling off, so we put chairs around him and then stood on either side of him.”

Although all three women are certified in CPR, they said they only had to turn McWeeny on his side to keep his airway open when he started to choke. They, then, stayed with McWeeny until paramedics arrived so they could tell them what had happened.

The women said the incident boosted their confidence that they can be successful in their chosen field.

“We learned that it can happen anywhere and that you always have to be ready anywhere, not just in a hospital setting,” Kenyon said. “We also learned that we are capable of helping and how far we’ve come.”

McWeeny, 54, who said he’d had a similar incident last fall, said his doctors have told him he may be experiencing the onset of diabetes but they aren’t sure.

“I just sort of dozed off and I don’t remember much of anything until the paramedics came,” said McWeeny, who lives in Rockford. “When I got to the hospital, they said the blood sugar was fine. I’ve had one follow-up examination and they can’t find anything wrong but they say that’s not unusual for early onset diabetes, so they basically have just prescribed diet alterations.”

The only aftereffect, he said, was some muscle pain in his legs about 24 hours after the seizure.

Julie Leutschwager, chair of the college’s nursing department, said she hopes other students pick up on the women’s’ experience.

“As we educate our students, a significant focus is on critical thinking and being able on your feet when a situation arises,” she said. “This is confirmation for us that they’re doing what they should be doing.”

Staff writer Mike DeDoncker can be reached at 815-987-1382 or mdedoncker@rrstar.com.