By SYDNEY SCHWARTZ
The Patriot Ledger

MARSHFIELD - When Christina Brown signed up for a CPR course offered by the Marshfield Fire Department last fall, she never expected she would have to save a life.

She had taken a CPR class in college about 30 years earlier and had to be recertified in order to obtain a ship captain’s license, she said.

But on June 1, Brown, the owner of Humming Rock Gifts in Humarock, used CPR to save a friend, Eleanor ‘‘Ellie’’ Smith, a summer resident of Scituate.

Smith died 11 days later.

This week, selectmen named Brown as the Marshfield person of the week.

And on Thursday, Smith was honored at a Humarock Beach Improvement Association luncheon in Scituate. She was slated to be named volunteer of the year before her death, according to Brown.

Brown, 49, of Preston Terrace, said she was talking with Smith on the phone from her gift shop on Marshfield Avenue when she heard Smith scream in pain. When she could not get Smith to respond, she got in her car and drove to Smith’s summer home on Revere Street in Scituate, about a minute away from Brown’s store.

She found her friend on the kitchen floor, with a faint pulse. About 30 seconds later, the pulse was gone, and Brown told Smith’s husband to dial 911 and Smith’s son to get her a pillow to elevate his mother’s legs. Then she started CPR.

When the Scituate Fire Department arrived, paramedics asked Brown to continue performing CPR compressions while they prepared to use a defibrillator, she said.

Marshfield Firefighter Lori Joyce, one of Brown’s CPR instructors last October, was one of the paramedics on the Marshfield ambulance, which assisted Scituate firefighters in the effort.

Smith, 70, a retired teacher who lived most of the year in Niskayuna, N.Y., was taken to South Shore Hospital in Weymouth. She was revived and was able to communicate with her family, Brown said. Smith, who had a history of heart problems, died June 12 from other medical complications.

Brown said it was hard to accept her friend’s death, but she realized that she had made a difference.

‘‘Her heart was kept beating through all of our efforts,’’ she said. ‘‘ I realized what a wonderful thing it was for her family and friends to be able to talk to her and actually be able to communicate and say goodbye.’’

Marshfield Deputy Fire Chief Jack Beagle said the fire department started offering CPR instruction last fall. About 100 people have received training since the classes began. Brown was among the first students.

‘‘We’re just trying to bring out awareness of CPR and the use of defibrillators,’’ Beagle said. ‘‘We also are trying to get more defibrillators out there for people to use.’’

The classes last two to three hours and cost $30 for residents, $20 for senior citizens and $40 for non-residents, he said. Classes will be held again in September, November and January.

Brown said she is working with the Scituate and Marshfield fire departments to set up a CPR course in Humarock this August.

For her, the training really paid off, she said.

‘‘I never thought I would ever have to use it. I never thought that I would have the clearness of head to be able to initiate it and do a good job at it. Adrenaline just courses through you. You can do it.’’

Sydney Schwartz may be reached at sschwartz@ledger.com .

Copyright 2007 The Patriot Ledger
Transmitted Friday, July 20, 2007