A 15-year-old is being hailed a hero for performing CPR and helping to save his stepfather.
"He was heroic," Michael Reese told "Good Morning America" of his stepson Anthony Killinger. "For someone of his age to step up and act in such a fashion when there's a medical emergency, that's a hard thing to do and he took it upon himself and stepped up. And luckily, I'm here today because of him."
"We're just so proud of him. You know, just how he composed himself and how brave he was," Jennifer Killinger-Reese said of her son.
On March 19, Reese told "GMA" he had wrapped up an "average work day" as a law enforcement officer and didn't remember anything unusual.
"I went to work. Did work after at the house, did my normal [routine] -- watch[ed] the evening news and relaxed. And usually, I go up to bed sometime around midnight, and I don't recall anything," Reese said.
Teen saves 3-year-old cousin using CPR skills she learned in schoolKillinger-Reese and Anthony, however, said they remembered that night was unlike any other, because the family's two dogs -- a white French bulldog named Bronx and a black-and-white Boston terrier named Finley -- started barking loudly.
"My mom runs down the stairs because the dogs were barking really loud and really late at night, and that never happens. … [She] runs right back up, tells me, 'Mike might be dead. Call 911,'" Anthony recounted to "GMA."
Killinger-Reese said when they spoke to the dispatcher, they were instructed to start CPR immediately.
"The dispatcher asked if there was a pulse. Anthony, he actually checked for a pulse. It was faint, but he had a pulse. So then me and him were instructed to start giving CPR," Killinger-Reese said. "I had to do the counting. And … I don't know CPR. He knew it, so he did it."
Teen athlete saved after cardiac arrest speaks out: What to know about lifesaving role of CPR, AEDs in schoolsAnthony, who said he learned CPR in health class at his high school, estimates he did CPR on his stepdad for about eight minutes until paramedics arrived at their home.
Reese, who said he was treated at Buffalo General Medical Center, part of Kaleida Health, in Buffalo, New York, said doctors told him he had gone into cardiac arrest.
"My short term memory, because of a lack of oxygen, was pretty much diminished, and still, until today, last I remember was waking up in the hospital and being advised as to what had transpired," the 56-year-old said.
Kaleida Health shared Reese's story in a Facebook post, calling his recovery "a miracle."
According to Killinger-Reese, doctors told them if it weren't for Anthony's quick actions, along with emergency responders using an automated external defibrillator, or AED, her husband might not have survived.
"The doctor said, with his condition, in the cardiac arrest, he had a 9% chance of living," said Killinger-Reese. "And it's because of the work that Anthony did before the paramedics arrived that he is still living. They said it was truly a miracle. And then even within that 9%, there's a small percent chance that he would come off having no brain damage."
Today, Reese is back home, and his recovery is ongoing.
"I'm grateful to be here. I'm still in some pain, but besides that, it's a true blessing that I'm here, and I'm very fortunate for Anthony," he said.
The family said they hope by sharing their story, they can encourage others to consider getting trained in CPR.
"Learn CPR. It'll help you," Anthony said. "I never thought I would need it, but I clearly did, and it can obviously save lives and help you in the long run."
Killinger-Reese, a third-grade teacher, added that she now plans to get CPR-trained and hopes more schools will add CPR training to their curricula.
"I would like to see [CPR training] become part of all schools' curriculum. My son was fortunate to get it in his curriculum and his health class, but I know not all students have that," she said, adding, "When the dust settles, I'm going to go get trained too."
