Krystal Enlow, a 27-year-old critical care paramedic in Rhea County, was volunteering off-campus with some of her college classmates in April when her medical training kicked in.
Enlow, who recently graduated from Cleveland State Community College, was working at an outdoor competition at the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge near Chickamauga Lake involving the Tennessee Retriever Club.
One of the dog owners tripped and fell, and Enlow rushed to help.
“I checked on her and made sure she was OK,” Enlow recalled in a telephone interview last week. “She looked great. Everything was going well. We helped her up to a chair.”
But a few minutes later, the woman told Enlow she wasn’t feeling well. While comforting the woman, Enlow instinctively reached for her wrist and noticed that her heart rate was dangerously slow.
“I told her the best thing we could do was to lay on the ground, and maybe it would bring her BP and heart rate up,” Enlow recalls.
(READ MORE: Kennedy: Broken Heart Cheesecakes food truck sends a message of hope)
When that didn’t help, Enlow recommended an ambulance be summoned to assist the woman.
Enlow’s quick action was recently recognized by the Retriever Club, which donated $500 in her honor to the Cleveland State Student Wildlife Society, the student organization assisting with the competition.
“I was just at the right place at the right time,” Enlow said. “I didn’t do anything overly heroic.”
But the episode did shine a light on the program that allowed Enlow to attend Cleveland State. Without a tuition grant from the Tennessee Reconnect program, established by the state in 2018, Enlow said she wouldn’t have been able to afford college. She hopes to continue to pursue a bachelor’s degree as a forest, wildlife and fisheries major to work in wildlife law enforcement.
Tennessee Reconnect is “an initiative to help more adults return to higher education to gain new skills, advance in the workplace and fulfill lifelong dreams of completing a degree or credential,” according to the program website. Those who don’t have a college degree can attend a Tennessee community or technical college tuition-free for up to two years.
(READ MORE: UTC students search Chattanooga for a cheap, delicious taco lunch for about $10)
Enlow said after six years as a parametric, she felt like she had reached a fork in the road. Not exactly burned out, she said her job can nonetheless be draining.
“I’ve met some amazing people, but it can be a very sad job,” she said of being a first responder.
“I sat back one day, and I was thinking about how much things would weigh on me,” she said. “I decided I wanted something that would make me more happy than sad.”
The great outdoors has always been her refuge, so Enlow said she decided to pursue a degree that would place her in that setting.
“Growing up, I would go fishing a lot with my family,” she said. “As I got older, it became a passion to fish and hike.”
(READ MORE: Kennedy: Signal Elementary reunion astonishes organizers)
Enlow said she believes her decision to go to Cleveland State was the right one and that she would encourage others to follow their passions, too.
“I’m 100 percent happy that I’m following my passion,” she said.
Her advice for others: “Follow your heart. Find what makes you happy. Even it’s its scary, you have to.”
“Life Stories” publishes on Mondays. Contact Mark Kennedy at mkennedy@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6645.
Mark Kennedy, columnist.