A substitute teacher in Milford, Massachusetts reunited Wednesday with the high school students who sprang into action when he suffered a stroke during one of their classes.
It happened last month in the last 10 minutes of their food services class at Milford High School. Seventy-one-year-old Jack Candini was substitute teaching and started acting strangely. Students said he was slurring his words and quickly became unresponsive.
“Everyone kind of got up and asked if Mr. Candini was okay,” senior William Pointer said. “But at that point, his words were so bad you knew something was wrong.
Pointer, along with freshman Jordan Darling and junior Lucas Caetano, are just some of the quick-thinking students who alerted the school nurse and called 911.
“I told them where we were, what class and the classroom number and that we thought our teacher was having a stroke,” Darling said.
Candini, who is well known having once coached hockey at the high school, had suffered a stroke and ended up spending days at the hospital.
Doctors told him the timing was everything.
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“They told me it could have been catastrophic if more time was spent or if people backed off when I said I was okay,” Candini said. “I’m just so grateful for the kids.”
Candini is not back substitute teaching yet, but is recovering well and hopes to be back in the classroom soon. While he got to thank the students in person at the high school Wednesday, the students say they really owe him a thank you for teaching them a life-saving lesson.
“When you see something happening out of the ordinary, stand up and say something,” Caetano said. “Because it can really change someone’s life, just like it did for Mr. Candini.”
