Kurt Vaughn, a Starbucks Palm Springs barista hailed as hero

Starbuck's Barista Saved A Man's Life

Saving someone else's life is priceless especially if it's in a do-or-die situation. 

Meet Kurt Vaughn, a 20-years old Starbucks barista who was able to save a life in Palm Springs. Vaughn was on duty that time when he heard a commotion -- an uproar about their customer who passed out. 

One of his colleagues approached him and asked for help. Kurt knew a little about CPR but wasn't certified, and everything he knew was his experience when he was still a Boy Scout a few years ago.

A customer had passed out on the coffee shop's patio.

According to Kurt, "Definitely, the nerves were there. There was someone in my arms that was very close to dying.” Kurt said the man named Mike Furtado was  "as pale as a piece of paper" sitting in a chair when he rushed to help him. "He was not breathing, but he had an extremely faint pulse" he also said.

Mike Furtado, a 66-year-old resident of Martinez in Northern California. He arrived in Palm Springs and was looking forward to relaxing at his Palm Canyon Resort. 

Because of that incident, he spent the week at Desert Regional Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest outside Starbucks. Mike said that he and Kurt might have met during one of his previous visits, but he will now never forget the barista who saved him; and according to the experts, only a few ever survive. 

Mike Furtado, 66 years old and Kurt, 20.

"He's my hero, now," Mike said on Kurt. 

Aside from Kurt, there were a lot of people helping. After they placed Mike on the ground, one customer held his legs up to maintain blood flow while another Starbucks worker, Livia Pope, held his head and chin in a position to keep air moving. Kurt was still performing chest compressions and rescue breathing for about two minutes.

Another customer dialed 911 and paramedics were on their way. Once they arrived, Kurt placed Mike into their care and went back to work. 

"My brain was shooting out things to do,” Vaughn said. "Things were happening, and things were going well.”

Vaugh said Furtado was  "as pale as a piece of paper" sitting in a chair

The Paramedics spent a few more minutes taking care of Mike before rushing him to the hospital. They said that he was in a medically induced coma for two days, and woke up without any memory of being at Starbucks. Mike's memory of his near-death experience remains foggy, but he's otherwise doing well.

On the other hand, the doctors were impressed with Kurt, even though he's not that fully trained. They thought Mike was treated by an expert because there was no sign of damage that could result from poorly performed CPR, including broken ribs or sternum separations.

"Everything ended up lining up perfectly,” said Kurt, who plans on becoming a certified EMT and performing search and rescue. Thank you, Kurt, for saving Mike's life! 

“Heroes are made by the paths they choose, not the powers they are graced with.”

- Brodi Ashton, Everneath