Taylor High School
By ANTHONY STONE
Sunday Times Newspapers
TAYLOR — October 7, 2022, is a day that two students at Taylor High School will remember for the rest of their lives. Caiden Lutton, a 10th-grader at the school, suffered a seizure, and his fellow student, Austin Perish saved his life.
Perish, a Taylor High School senior, recently started the Fire, Public Safety & EMS program at Taylor Career & Technical Center. On Oct. 7, He noticed students panicking and rushing to get security and realized that Lutton was having a seizure.
Perish immediately sprang into action whereupon his training took over. He placed Lutton on his left side to make it easier for him to spit everything out. In a few minutes, Lutton’s life was saved.
Oddly enough, Lutton has had no history of seizures.
“From what I know, it was violent,” Lutton told WDIV Channel 4 News. “It’s nice to know that there’s somebody capable of doing it in the school.”
Perish said he knows somebody personally who died of a seizure earlier in the week.
“I felt like if I was there, I would have been able to help him,” Perish told reporters.
He had his chance at redemption.
Perish’s face lit up as he explained what it was like seeing Lutton in school.
“It felt great,” Perish told reporters. “I’m not going to lie. When (Lutton) walked in, I almost cried.”
The retired firefighter who teaches the public safety class said Perish is the fifth student in the last three years who has saved a life outside of the classroom. He expressed his pride in Perish and what he did for Lutton.
He hopes that this incident will help other students recognize the value of what they are learning at Taylor Career & Technical Center.