Liberty Creek High School senior Katelyn Williams put her skills into action while working at the Sumner County YMCA, becoming the first to respond when a man was found unresponsive in the locker room. Katelyn immediately began performing CPR before an AED delivered two shocks to restart the man’s heart.
“That’s the most adrenaline my body has ever had, and it’s a different type of feeling that people don’t understand unless you experience it,” Williams said. “I go through trainings all the time, but that’s with a mannequin that has sensors. You know life isn’t perfect, the situation was not perfect, but I was told by my boss and everybody that I had reacted the best I could have. My first thought was this man is unresponsive, and I dropped down on the ground and started giving compressions.”
Katelyn utilized the exact skillset she had been working to build. She seamlessly performed CPR until two bystanders, Paula Carney and McKay Muhlestein, both CRNAs from TriStar Hendersonville Medical Center, arrived to assist. Together, they were able to resuscitate the patient by the time EMS arrived.
“I was looking at him and trying not to cry because I knew this was somebody’s person; this was someone’s father. I wanted to make sure that I was giving my 100% to this guy. Seeing someone like that and being over top of them knowing that you are going to be the reason that they’re able to live is a different type of feeling and just playing that over and over, like it’s a constant, you know.”
Katelyn is part of the clinical internship class at Liberty Creek High, where she has learned Basic Life Support (BLS) and CPR skills that became crucial during the emergency. She works part-time at the Sumner County YMCA as a lifeguard and has undergone training there as well.
Just days before the incident, her Liberty Creek High School teachers, Dr. Megan Morley and Crystal Cornett, had shared how proud they were of her growth as both a person and a professional, recognizing her ability to handle difficult work that requires endless empathy and problem-solving.
Katelyn says she is grateful for the team effort that saved Billy’s life, including TriStar Hendersonville heroes Paula Carney and McKay Muhlestein, the Sumner County YMCA team, her teachers, and the first responders who arrived that day.
Katelyn’s quick thinking and courage highlight how students across Sumner County Schools are becoming #SumnerReady and are prepared to lead, serve, and make a difference in their communities.
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