CPR revives dad after ‘dying’ at kids party

We all have our heroes, but there’s no hero quite like the one who brings a first grader’s dad back to life at a school party.

Jennifer Ani and Miki Goralsky were waiting for the piñata when dad Mike Ryan collapsed.

“We were all outside, and it was time for the piñata and all the kids were in line,” Ani said. “I was about 10 feet from him and his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled and he fell to the ground.”

After a few moments of chaos, Goralsky began administering compressions to Ryan’s chest and Ani performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The older brother of one of the first-graders whisked all of the small children to another part of the property.

Not only did this quick-thinking duo save a dad’s life, they turned the whole thing into a teaching moment. How many mommy points is that!

The experience made such a profound impression on Ani, Goralsky and other Brandeis parents that a group of first-grade families are planning to take a CPR class together.

“The lesson here for me is that you cannot wait and think that somebody else will do it — you need to act,” Goralsky said.