CPR Stars Mississippi

01/15/2026

🗣️BROOKHAVEN ACADEMY‼️ wow! Just wow!!! Y’all are amazing!!! 2️⃣2️⃣5️⃣ students from grades 7-12 were CERTIFIED in CPR this week!
Absolutely amazing. We are so thankful for your commitment to the safety of your school and families. School isn’t just about classroom learning- teaching life saving skills goes way beyond the classroom and we are so appreciative you offer this to your students. Way to go COUGARS!!!

01/15/2026

First Aid + CPR + AED training yesterday on the Mississippi Gulf Coast 🏖
Shout out 🗣 Biloxi Public School District & Nurse Carmen Davis! Thank you for the years of partnership 👏

01/15/2026

Mr. Alan Ogletree and the entire Wiggins team of USDA Forest Fire responders recertified yesterday. Been partnering for years! Thank you for having us 👊 See y'all next year

01/15/2026

Shout out 🗣 to Ms. Sally West and the whole staff down in Hancock County.

01/13/2026

Jewell Oldcastle
on 🔒

01/12/2026

The team at Delta Health Alliance in Vicksburg, MS has demonstrated excellent preparedness in medical emergencies through their yearly CPR training.

01/12/2026

Churches, take note: now is the ideal time to invest in CPR training for nursery staff and security teams; kudos to Philadelphia Baptist Church for their dedication to safety.

01/12/2026

Outstanding juniors and seniors at Russell Christian Academy: Warrior Nation successfully completed their CPR certifications last week. Great achievement, everyone.

01/06/2026

Pass Christian School District showed up & showed out 🔥 See ya next year

01/06/2026

Job well done Bay Springs School District 👏👏

01/06/2026

Super thankful for y’all!!! Thank you Mrs. Pittman for setting up this training! Y’all have an amazing rest of the school year! !!

12/18/2025

Way to go Landon and the team at Complete Fitness! We are so proud of y’all and everyone involved in this crucial and miraculous save. AED’s save lives everyone. It’s imperative your place of employment has them! They’re literally the deciding factor between life and death.

The Day a Stranger Became a Lifesaver


The day started like any other at Complete Fitness in Brandon. Eighty-three-year-old James S. “Tommy” Thomas stepped onto his usual treadmill, ready to start his routine. Staying active had always been a point of pride, and at his age, it was a ritual he never skipped.

“I came in, did about three miles, walked over to get a cup of water,” Tommy recalled. “And that’s the last thing I remember.”

At almost the same time, EMT firefighter John Arterberry had just ended his shift. Normally, he drove straight to the gym, but that morning he did something out of character. “I went home,” he said, still puzzled. “I sat in the garage for a bit, did a few odds and ins around the house–I never do that. Usually, if I go home first, I don’t get back out. But something said, ‘Go on to the gym.’ So I got up and went to the gym.”

Around 8:30 a.m., John walked in and began his warm-up, noticing Tommy on the treadmill but thinking nothing of it. Then he heard it—the unmistakable sound of a body hitting the floor. Turning, he saw a crowd running toward an older man lying still, his color already draining. “When I first walked over, I wasn’t going to jump in yet,” John said. “But he was in a shock position. That told me he’d hit his head.” A second glance made his heart sink. “He was turning blue and black. Fast.”

Years of training kicked in instantly. He opened Tommy’s airway and heard a deep snore that meant it was blocked, then watched as Tommy stopped breathing altogether. “It was go time,” John said. “It’s a big deal to have a patient’s live in just your hands, we usually work as a team, but I didn’t have my crew–it was just me.”

Another gym member, an off-duty sheriff’s deputy, grabbed the AED mounted on the wall—there for over 20 years but never used until that morning.

John began compressions, deep, steady, relentless. “He was down for a good eight minutes,” John said. “We shocked him once—still nothing. So I kept going.” Minutes stretched, heavy and tense, the gym silent except for the rhythm of CPR and John’s calm, steady commands. Then, finally, Tommy took a loud, ragged breath.

“It was the sweetest sound I’ve ever heard,” John said. Fire Station 5 arrived moments later, fully briefed by John, and took over, but he stayed until he was sure Tommy was breathing on his own. “Once you put your hands on a patient,” John said softly, “they’re yours.”

At the hospital, Tommy learned he’d had a blocked artery and a leaking valve. Had he been anywhere else—especially on his usual workout days—he likely would not have survived. “I’m always down in the woods on my property,” he said. “Cutting limbs, hauling trees. If it had happened there… I’d still be there. The good Lord had me here, had John here, it was all His plan. Right place at right time.”

Tommy joked, “Just look at this man—my chest was sore for weeks after he did CPR on me. But I’m grateful. He saved my life.”
“I’ve got a buddy for life now,” John added with a grin.

Their shared experience forged an instant bond. “Oh, he’s stuck with me now!” John teased...

Read the rest of this story in the January edition of Hometown Rankin!