Stranger Things Is Now Helping Kids Save Adult’s Lives
Through the years, many people have credited incredible works of art with having saved their lives. For one Florida man, this seems to literally be the case, thanks to an episode of Stranger Things. According to a recent write-up in ScreenRant, a 12-year-old saved the life of their drowning therapist, thanks in large part to a life-saving technique seen on the hit Netflix original series.
A 12-year-old saved a man thanks to learning CPR by watching Stranger Things.
The therapist, Jason Piquette, had apparently lost consciousness while swimming and spent several minutes underwater and completely unable to breathe. Piquette would surely have perished had it not been for his patient, 12-year-old Austen MacMillan, who ensured that 911 was called and performed CPR just in time to save the man’s life. MacMillan had apparently never taken lessons to become CPR certified, having learned the technique entirely from seeing it on Stranger Things.
While MacMillan didn’t specify exactly which scene in Stranger Things he was referencing, it was likely the Season 1 episode “The Upside Down,” which portrays a very accurate portrayal of the life-saving technique on screen. In the episode, David Harbour’s Sheriff Jim Hopper and Winona Ryder’s Joyce Byers discover the non-responsive body of Byers’ son, Will, as portrayed by Noah Schnapp. The pair then successfully administer life-saving CPR to Will as they telegraph the necessary steps to complete the process.
Though a Stranger Things binge likely won’t serve as a suitable replacement for CPR training in schools and hospitals across the country, it certainly seemed to have served the Florida preteen exceptionally well. While the series has made a massive impact on pop culture and society at large, this seems to be the first documented instance of a life-or-death situation being rectified by the show’s influence.
Stranger Things has had an outsized influence on pop culture, including landing Kate Bush in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Beyond teaching children CPR, Stranger Things has made a splash by revitalizing interest in the hit tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons for a new generation, potentially even leading to the production of the film of the same name, which premiered earlier this year. Furthermore, the series has influenced pop culture by re-popularizing hit songs such as the iconic Kate Bush track “Running Up That Hill,” which the show utilized in its fourth season soundtrack.
This life-saving tale comes just days after Netflix teased Stranger Things’s upcoming fifth and final season, leaving fans incredibly excited for the cinematic conclusion. The series, which first premiered in July of 2016, garnered an almost immediate cult status among Netflix subscribers, rapidly launching itself as one of the streamer’s flagship shows.
Beyond teaching children CPR, Stranger Things has made a splash by revitalizing interest in the hit tabletop role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons for a new generation…
Normally parents spend their Summer encouraging their children to get away from the television and video games in order to spend more time outdoors, enriching their lives. However, after this news, perhaps people will become more mindful of the media they’re consuming and make it a point to internalize helpful information, such as the CPR techniques learned by watching Stranger Things.
So as this final season draws near, be sure to binge your way through the hit Netflix series, as doing so might wind up saving somebody’s life.
