If you’re a fan of “The Office,” chances are you remember the ridiculous scene in which Michael Scott and his co-workers are in the middle of an in-office CPR course that quickly turns in to a Bee Gees’ singalong. Scott starts singing the classic “Stayin'” Alive” while doing chest compressions on a dummy to the beat of the song. Andy Bernard starts to sing along, breaking out into the verses, and Kelly Kapoor begins to dance.
Though this scene could very well be an example of what not to do while someone is struggling for their life, the “Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive” tempo of the song is actually the proper tempo for chest compressions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1D8dLGpC7Y
Don’t believe it? Well, when Cross Scott, a 21-year-old shop technician in Tuscon, Arizona, saved a woman’s life with CPR, he credited this scene with why he was able to do it.
While driving one of his customer’s vehicles, he noticed a white sedan with its hazard lights on. He quickly realized something was wrong when he saw that the woman in front of the wheel was unconscious. Because he doesn’t bring his phone with him so as to avoid distractions while driving customers’ cars, he couldn’t call 911. Luckily, two women pulled over to do so.
This is when Scott channeled his inner hero. According to the Arizona Daily Star, he broke the window with a rock, unlocked the driver-side door and proceeded to crawl on top of her, knowing he needed to do something to get her pulse back. After a minute of imitating the CPR he had seen in that episode of “The Office,” the woman began to breathe again and threw up. The paramedics didn’t arrive until 10 minutes later and told him the outcome could have been deadly had he not sprung into action.
Scott, a humble young man who is known for his chivalry and kindness, went to the hospital after his shift that day to see how the woman whose life he had saved was doing. By that point, she had been released, alive and well.
See? Sitcom television can be educational!