A Spring Valley teen is being called a hero for saving his grandfather's life.
Alejandro Flores was awarded San Miguel Fire Department's "Certificate of Life Saving" for giving his 58-year-old grandfather a second chance at life.
“He’s my hero. He saved my life," Joel Kelly, Flores' grandfather, said.
Flores walked NBC 7 through the early morning hours of Dec. 6, 2023, when his grandfather had fallen out of bed in their Spring Valley home.
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“I heard a crash and grandma go, 'Are you alright? Are you alright,'" Flores said.
They discovered he was having a heart attack. When they called 911, dispatch supervisor Shelby Ortmeir answered the call for help and talked them through how to perform CPR.
"They were some of the best callers ever. They recognized there was a need for 911 really quick and called fast and remained calm," Ortmeir said. She met the teen and his grandad she helped save for the first time.
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“It felt like the dispatcher was there with us in person,” Emily Kelly, Flores' grandmother, said. “When she told him to do CPR, he started down here (motioning to her stomach), and she said, ‘No, between the breasts,’ and he moved his arms and started going."
“She gave me the pace, 1-2-3-4. So that’s what I did until paramedics showed up," Flores said.
"I had a lot of frozen fear. Thank goodness my grandson stepped in and saved the day," Emily Kelly said.
According to the American Heart Association, immediately administering CPR can double or triple the chances of survival for a person who goes into cardiac arrest.
"Without that compression, I wouldn't have that fresh oxygen to my brain," Joel Kelly said.
Flores, who was 16 when he helped save his grandfather, says he was first introduced to CPR from a Zoom class during the pandemic.
The lifesaving experience helped solidify the Mount Miguel High School junior's goal to one day become a firefighter.
“I just really want to help families in need. It felt good saving my grandpa. Now it will feel better saving others too," Flores said.
Flores' grandmother and Ortmeir were also honored with Certificate of Lifesaving during the ceremony at the San Miguel Fire Administration Building.
