Rohnert Park teachers credited with saving boy’s life

Family members of a fourth-grade boy who collapsed Monday at a Rohnert Park school said his doctors are crediting two teachers for saving his life.

Vinnie Schenone, 9, passed ?out on the playground of Evergreen Elementary during a ?routine run-walk after recess, and two teachers rushed to help, putting their CPR training to work.

“We were finishing up, and we both noticed him lying face down on the playground,” said Erin Scull, who teaches fourth grade at the school.

“We ran over and he was completely unresponsive,” she said. Scull held Schenone’s head as ?another teacher, Joaquin Bernal, performed chest compressions. “It was really intense; I thought ?he was going to die.” Scull said.

Schenone has a heart condition that likely led to the event, teachers and family members said. While Scull and Bernal continued CPR, emergency crews with the Rohnert Park Department of Public Safety fire and patrol units responded.

Schenone was immediately transported to Santa Rosa ?Hospital. Shortly after, he was airlifted to Stanford University Medical Center, where he is being treated.

“Vinnie’s alive because of those two teachers,” said the boy’s grandmother, Gloria Schenone. “The doctors told us he wouldn’t be with us today if it weren’t for them, or he would have been severely brain damaged. We want to thank them so much.”

Schenone said it was unclear what happened to her grandson, but the problem appeared to be a result of his heart problem - a genetic condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick, according to family members.

Schenone said her grandson was recovering Monday night, but he was feeling slightly confused. She said his recovery could take some time.

“He’s tired,” she said. “We think he overdid it today.”

Dawn Mawhinney, principal at Evergreen Elementary, applauded the teachers for reacting so quickly.

“The teachers came together as a team, they’re incredible,” Mawhinney said.

“We’re all thrilled the student is doing well; we all care for him so much.”

Bernal, who teaches fifth grade, said it felt good to know he could put his CPR training into practice.

“It’s kind of scary,” Bernal said. “But we kept telling him ‘stay with me, you’re doing great.’”

Scull echoed Bernal’s thoughts.

“During training, you have this feeling like you never know if you’ll be able to do it,” she said. “So we’re really fortunate that we could do it, and that we had the help of a whole team of teachers.”

You can reach Staff Writer ?Angela Hart at 526-8503 ?or angela.hart?@pressdemocrat.com.