Alpine resident Carlette Anderson is kicking off Heart Month by conducting a CPR/AED class on Feb. 16 from 1-2:30 p.m. at Save-A-Heart headquarters in Alpine.
Class covers CPR for adults, children and infants, Heimlich maneuver, drowning and automatic external defibrillators training. Certification is good for two years. The costs for this training is $50 for adults and $25 for children 8-17 years old. To register, call Save-A-Heart at 619-905-0898.
Anderson holds CPR/AED training, but this event is for her daughter, Tamara Newton, who is currently battling cancer. Tamara is fighting an extreme form of brain cancer glioblastoma. She resides near her children in the San Francisco Bay area and Anderson has been traveling back and forth to help her with her treatment. Anderson said she has been through surgery, multiple rounds of radiation and different chemotherapy treatments, just finishing her latest chemo treatment this week.
Tamara Newton, who is now 46, is known as the producer of ecological and agricultural workshops on her farm and Three Seeds Eco-Education camp in Rio Nuevo, Costa Rica. She is also a landscape artist and has a deep commitment to her community and the rainforest through the sale of hand-crafted items made by Costa Rican groups.
Since her diagnosis and beginning of treatment, Tamara has been unable to work, which Anderson said has been an extreme financial hardship for her and the entire family, and that the treatments she has received have been brutal on her body.
“There is nothing that I can do,” she said. “All I can do is pray. How much more can she stand with all she is going through. She is a very strong woman.”
Anderson said she travels to her daughter and sends as much financial help as she can, but that it is not enough to help her daughter in this time of need. Anderson said Tamara has three children, two nearby, and her youngest son is living with her. “The majority of my family lives up there,” she said. “He is 20. All he does is work, sleep, and do what he can to help his mother. With this economy, they are barely making it. So, I am doing what I can to help raise money, and one of the ways is teaching CPR. I love teaching CPR, and I love teaching people how to save lives.”
Anderson’s classes are one way that she is helping to raise money to assist her daughter and her family. Tamara’s sister has set up a GoFundMe page to help with her expenses at https://gofund.me/37d393e8.
“If you are unable to attend this class, you can get certified online at www.cprpros.com or schedule a private class at your home or office with a minimum of six adults. The online course is a fun, informative and interactive course for the entire family. No matter how you learn CPR it is the knowledge you have that can save a life,” said Anderson.
