Eagle County resident credits workplace CPR training for miraculous rescue

February 22, 2024

The photo shows Jenna and Steve Beairsto at Jenna’s wedding in 2023 (Ashlie Bramely, Bramley Co Photography/Courtesy Photo).

For Jenna Beairsto, the CPR certification required by her job seemed like just another workplace training requirement. She never imagined it would become the difference between life and death for someone she loved most.

Image: Jenna and Steve Beairsto during a rafting trip with Jenna’s brother and niece. (Jenna Beairsto/Courtesy Photo)

That changed on a January morning at the Homestead Court Club in Edwards, where the 33-year-old project manager was exercising alongside her father, Steve Beairsto. What began as their routine workout together quickly transformed into a life-or-death emergency that would test everything Jenna had learned in her certification classes.

A Routine Morning Turns Critical

Steve Beairsto, a longtime Eagle County resident since 1984 who runs Wire Nut Electric and teaches skiing at Vail Mountain, was about ten minutes into his treadmill session when disaster struck. The 60-year-old suddenly felt lightheaded and reached for the machine’s stop button, but collapsed before he could halt the moving belt.

“I was just a few treadmills away when I saw him fall forward,” Jenna recalled. “He started having convulsions and his skin was turning this terrible bluish-purple color.”

As other gym members called 911, Jenna’s training kicked in. Despite her initial panic, muscle memory from her most recent certification course—completed just a year earlier through the Eagle River Water and Sanitation District—guided her actions.

“The fear was overwhelming at first,” she admitted. “But once I started the compressions, it was like my hands knew what to do. I just followed what I’d practiced over and over in training.”

The Critical Minutes

While Jenna performed chest compressions, other club members retrieved the facility’s automated external defibrillator (AED). Within minutes, Eagle River Fire personnel arrived, followed by Eagle County Paramedics, who took over the resuscitation efforts.

The medical team worked tirelessly for nearly an hour, delivering six defibrillator shocks as they fought to restart Steve’s heart. Eventually, they stabilized him enough for transport via helicopter to Aurora Medical Center’s intensive care and cardiac units.

The gravity of the situation became clear when doctors gave the family devastating news: Steve had less than a 10% chance of survival, with even lower odds of avoiding severe brain damage.

Against All Odds

Two days later, Steve opened his eyes in the hospital. His last clear memory before the cardiac arrest was seeing Jenna’s face as she began CPR. Remarkably, not only had he survived, but his cognitive function remained intact—defying medical expectations.

“They told us the chances were almost zero,” Steve reflected. “But here I am, thinking clearly and feeling grateful for every day.”

Steve Beairsto with his wife and their oldest granddaughter.Jenna Beairsto/Courtesy Photo

A Paramedic’s Perspective

Bill Johnston, the Eagle County Paramedic who responded to the emergency, has witnessed few such miraculous recoveries in his 25-year career. In nearly three decades of emergency medical service, he can count on one hand the number of cardiac arrest patients who’ve walked out of the hospital under their own power.

“Jenna is the real hero here,” Johnston emphasized. “By the time we arrived, she’d already done the most important work. CPR is what saved him—I just continued what she started so well.”

Johnston stressed a crucial point that many people don’t realize: effective CPR doesn’t require mouth-to-mouth resuscitation or perfect technique. “If someone’s unconscious, start compressions immediately. You literally cannot make things worse, and you might save a life.”

The Urgency of Bystander Response

Alan Himelfarb, executive director of the Avon-based nonprofit Starting Hearts, explains why immediate action is so critical. Sudden cardiac arrest kills more Americans annually than the next six leading causes of death combined, making it the nation’s deadliest medical emergency.

“Time is everything in cardiac arrest,” Himelfarb explained. “Survival rates drop 10% every minute without intervention. Brain damage begins within four minutes, which is why bystander CPR is absolutely essential.”

The statistics are sobering but hopeful: when trained citizens provide immediate care, survival rates can jump from a dismal 10% to over 40%. If an AED is available and used within the first few minutes, survival rates can reach as high as 70%.

“CPR works by maintaining just enough blood flow to keep the brain oxygenated,” Himelfarb noted. “It’s simpler than people think, but it’s also more important than most people realize.”

A New Mission

The experience has transformed both father and daughter into passionate advocates for CPR training and AED accessibility. They’re working to encourage everyone in their community to get certified and to increase the number of AED devices available in public spaces throughout Eagle County.

“I never thought I’d need this training for my own family,” Jenna said. “But now I can’t imagine not having it. Everyone should learn CPR—you never know when someone’s life might depend on it.”

Steve, who has made a full recovery and returned to his work and skiing instruction, echoes his daughter’s message. “We want everyone to understand how critical this training is. Jenna saved my life because someone took the time to teach her these skills.”

Gratitude and Moving Forward

Both father and daughter express deep appreciation for everyone involved in Steve’s care—from the initial responders and paramedics to the flight crew and hospital staff at Aurora Medical Center. The experience has given them a profound appreciation for the chain of care that emergency medicine represents.

“Every person in that chain mattered,” Steve said. “But it all started with Jenna knowing what to do in those first crucial minutes.”

Today, Steve continues running his electrical business and teaching children to ski at Vail Mountain, while Jenna manages water infrastructure projects for the community. But they both carry with them a powerful reminder of how quickly life can change—and how preparation can make all the difference.

“I’m just happy to be here,” Steve concluded. “And I hope our story helps save other families from going through what we almost did.”

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The Beairsto family encourages community members to seek CPR certification through local training programs and to support efforts to increase AED availability in public spaces throughout Eagle County.

In-Pulse CPR offers public and on-site workplace CPR training throughout the year.