This February, National Heart Month,

Chemung Canal is proud to feature a local Heart Hero.

We hope after you read Aiden's story, you too, will learn the two steps to save a life.

Click here to become a local heart saver!

Aiden's Story:

April 18, 2022 was like any other morning. My son Aidan Czebiniak, 14 at the time, was an 8th grader at Vestal 

Middle School. He was headed to his homeroom that morning, when he suddenly collapsed in the hallway. With the training of teachers, aides, and students, they immediately cleared the halls, and called for the school nurse, Michelle Hroncich. 

Michelle, a former cardiovascular ICU nurse, volunteer paramedic, and CPR instructor, had just started working at the Vestal Middle School in January of that year. Coincidentally, something that day told Michelle to go to work earlier than usual. 

As soon as she arrived, she got the call that a student had collapsed. She immediately rushed to Aidan, and upon arrival, knew she needed to administer CPR,  as well as an AED to shock his heart. Once he became stable enough, paramedics then transported him to Wilson Hospital,where he was later airlifted to Upstate, and  a week later  to NYC where he had an ICD surgically implanted.

Without Michelle’s quick action and trained skills, the outcome could have been much different that day for Aidan. Despite suffering a cardiac arrest, Aidan did not sustain any long term major medical injuries. This is because Michelle did EXACTLY what she was trained to do to save a life.  Her years of nursing, were of course very important,  but her CPR training was a lifesaver.  

After this traumatic event, it made me realize that you just never know where or when you could be in a situation where CPR is needed.  It’s not always a hospital or medical facility.  It can happen anywhere …even a school.  This is why it’s so important for more people in our communities, not just in the health care field to learn CPR.

I am proud to say that this past April, one year from Aidan’s cardiac arrest ,myself, and my 4 kids, including Aidan, became CPR certified.  We too, cannow possibly save a life someday. My husband who is also CPR certified, did in fact, save a gentleman’s life last May, one month after Aidan’s event.

Today, Aidan is here with us! He’s a happy,  and  healthy 10th grader doing all the things teenagers do. All because someone knew CPR.