Belgrade principal, teacher to be honored for saving student’s life

By TED SULLIVAN Chronicle Staff Writer

Belgrade Middle School principal Kevin McNelis ran to the math classroom and found an eighth-grade student on the floor next to his desk, unconscious, his face blue and heart stopped.

SEAN SPERRY/CHRONICLE Belgrade Middle School physical education instructor Gob Kieckbusch, left, and principal Kevin McNelis, used cardiopulmonary resuscitation to revive a student. McNelis cleared the room of students and began giving the student cardiopulmonary resuscitation. McNelis plugged the boy’s nose, tilted his head back, cleared his airway and blew two breaths into his lungs.

Physical education teacher Gob Kieckbusch helped the principal, kneeling over the boy and giving him 30 chest compressions. He thrust against the boy’s chest over and over again, hoping to revive him.

“He didn’t have a pulse,” McNelis said. “Nothing.”

During the next 45 minutes, the boy’s heart stopped and started several times. The men continued their revival efforts while emergency responders shocked the boy’s heart with a defibrillator five times. The boy eventually regained a stable heart rate and was taken to Bozeman Deaconess Hospital.

Today, McNelis and Kieckbusch will be honored by the Central Valley Fire Department for their actions Feb. 11, which saved the student’s life. The ceremony will be held at 3:10 p.m. in the middle school’s gym.

The boy, Jacen Speck, 15, is currently at home in Belgrade and hopes to return to school next week. After two weeks of tests at a hospital in Seattle, cardiologists told Jacen’s family his collapse was caused by a heart problem.

Jennifer Speck, Jacen’s mother, said an electrical problem in her son’s heart accelerated his heart rate, causing a heart attack. She said her son has since had a defibrillator implanted in his chest.

Jacen’s family is grateful for everyone who brought the boy back to life, Speck said, calling the incident nothing short of a miracle.

“We have been told by all the doctors that if they hadn’t done what they did, he wouldn’t be here today,” Speck said. “It was the CPR that saved his life.”

Despite recognition from Jacen’s family, the fire department and the school district, McNelis and Kieckbusch are quick to credit other teachers and emergency responders for helping to save the boy.

They said they were just doing their jobs. They are humbled, embarrassed even, they said, anytime someone calls them a hero.

“We didn’t do anything anyone else wouldn’t have done. Most teachers would’ve done the same thing,” Kieckbusch said, sitting in the principal’s office Tuesday at the middle school.

“What was done was a whole team effort,” McNelis said. “I’m just thankful that we had the opportunity to do what we did.”

McNelis and Kieckbusch, both of whom have received first-aid training, said they have helped resuscitate people in the past, although it was years ago. They said more people should learn mouth-to-mouth resuscitation in case of an emergency.

The school plans to start keeping a defibrillator in the building, McNelis said, and other Belgrade schools will follow suit.

After reflecting on the incident, McNelis and Kieckbusch said the most important thing is that they never gave up on the boy and he survived. They also said the students and teachers have rallied together to offer support.

“We’re just going to be really happy when he walks through the door and comes back to school,” McNelis said. “He’s doing incredibly well.”

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