As a housemaid, Wardell Seals Jr.’s mother made $8.22 per week and funneled that into taking care of her six children. His father sharecropped land in Winona, Miss. – the same land his father worked.
Family lore said the Seals had worked the same land from the time slavery was abolished in 1864. All of them dreamed their children would do better and have better. Seals Jr. and his siblings are the generation that broke that line of succession working on a plantation as sharecroppers.
Today, Seals is the president and CEO of Heartbeat CPR-Memphis, one of the most successful CPR training and fire safety businesses in the Southeast. He trains clients in accordance with the American Heart Association and the National Safety Council, whose state entity is the Tennessee Regional Safety Council.
On Saturday, Seals is expecting a full house, with 300-plus clients, community members and well-wishers at his East Memphis office to celebrate Heartbeat CPR-Memphis’ 25th anniversary.
“I’ve just been so blessed, and I wanted our clients and friends to come share in this celebration,” said Seals. “We got started back in 1994, and we’ve grown so quickly. It is always a joy to do the things you have a passion for and live to enjoy the fruits of your work. Who better to come party with you than the people who’ve helped to make us so successful?”
Seals’ certifications include Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), OSHA Instruction (BloodBorne-Pathogens), State of Tennessee Paramedic/Firefighter, First Aid Instructor, American Heart Association Training Center Faculty, National Association of Emergency Medical Services Educators Instruction, and State of Tennessee Fire Instruction I.
In 1978, Seals graduated from Winona High School. By 1980, he had earned his associate’s degree as an emergency medical technician (EMT), which was a trade at the time. Later when he moved to Memphis, he discovered that all paramedics had to be firefighters. He received additional education at Cotton Boll Technical Institute in Burdette, Ark.
“Now, paramedics have to take classes in para-medicine. As a firefighter and paramedic, we sometimes do some of what doctors do except it’s on the run,” Seals said. “But when you talk about basic CPR, everyone needs to be trained for that. You never know whose life you may save. My wife’s father had lung cancer and passed. No one with him knew how to do CPR. Who knows if that could have made the difference?”
Seals teaches clients about stress management and eating healthier.
“In our culture, African Americans suffer with certain conditions because of our eating habits. We can’t eat healthy all the time. But all of us can do better. We can all do something to enjoy better health,” he said. “We think just because we take our medicine that we can have some more chitterlings. And the body just doesn’t work like that.
“Our heart is an engine that makes our bodies go. When it stops, we stop. My father died of a heart attack, but he had diabetes and high cholesterol. Educating our people is so important.”
(Heartbeat CPR services are set by appointment only. For more information, call 901-324-8556.)
