Nursing Students Saving Lives: Mary Grace Becker

On September 22, 2018, healthy, 60-year-old Frank Spragens was running near UK. Four miles in, Spragens had no pain or shortness of breath when he collapsed. A family passing by stopped to help. Down the street, UK nursing student Mary Grace Becker was on her friend’s porch. Without hesitation, she sprinted to the scene.

When Becker arrived, Spragens was purple. Instinct and training kicked in. She took charge. A woman was already performing CPR, but Becker immediately recognized the compressions were too slow and confidently took over.

An ambulance happened by, and paramedics were able to revive Spragens with a defibrillator. Before taking Spragens to the hospital, one paramedic turned to Becker and told her she had single-handedly saved his life. Had it not been for her intervening and doing CPR the correct way, Spragens would have died.

Becker had never done CPR outside of the hospital. Her friends say she did not think twice; she was determined to save this man’s life.

“I just had this instinct that I’m responsible. That’s my role, especially as a nursing student. Because of UK’s nursing program, I knew what to do,” she said.

Miraculously, Spragens suffered no permanent damage. Physicians concluded a scar on his left ventricle caused a disruption in his heart rhythm that made his heart stop. He now has an implantable cardiac defibrillator and is back to running.

Spragens has since met Becker and is incredibly grateful. “Obviously, she’s doing exactly what she needs to be doing with her life,” he said. “I feel like she was placed on my path.”