EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — Ray Badillo is 91 years old, and has dedicated the past 12 years to his family’s business as an instructor offering basic and advanced life support training to healthcare professionals and large institutions across the Borderland.  Ray Badillo “These classes are what keep me young. I love teaching these classes. They keep me moving,” Badillo said. “I just want to help people save lives. There’s a lot of lives lost out there. If somebody knows how to save a life, they can help them. It’s a beautiful feeling to save a life, just beautiful.”  Badillo said he has had to put his knowledge and experience to work on four separate occasions, in which he has successfully helped resuscitate each person by administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).  Badillo served in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, and is a Purple Heart combat veteran, where he acquired his CPR experience. He says he has been a licensed CPR instructor for over 15 years, and described the moment he learned the value of knowing how to administer CPR.  “My aunt passed away years ago. I didn’t know CPR. I wish I had. The ambulance took about 30 to 35 minutes to get to her, and by the time they did, she was gone. If I had known CPR then, I would have saved her life,” Badillo said.  Badillo’s knowledge of how to administer CPR has been passed down to his children and grandchildren. Today, his family operates Texas Save A Life CPR and First Aid Training Center, a company that offers certified training for HeartSaver CPR, first aid, basic life support (BLS), advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS), and pediatric advanced life support (PALS), in Spanish and English, according to their website.  “My son is a fire medic in the Dallas area, so we started with him,” said Tryna Hammond, Badillo’s daughter and an instructor with the family business. “As he was going through school, we noticed there was a need for a business (to offer these services). And when my dad started having health problems, I came to El Paso to take care of him and we also found a need here (of a company that would offer certifications), and that could speak Spanish as well.” Tryna Hammond Hammond said she is one of 5 siblings in total, but that her brother died over 2 years ago while in Hueco Tanks. Although a person did begin CPR on her brother, she said the ambulance takes over 1 hour for emergency medical services to get out there, which is why all her siblings and their children now know how to administer CPR.  Badillo and Hammond work closely together, doing many of their training sessions together. While Badillo is perfectly capable of instructing on his own, Hammond said it’s important for her to be around him as Badillo himself has heart problems, and has been hospitalized before.  “It’s really important for me to also test his skillset, to make sure he is fully there, that he can teach, communicate, and that he still remembers,” Hammond said.  But it is Badillo’s constant activity that Hammond believes helps him be so independent at his age, and advocated there should be more support in the community.  “I don’t want to sit him at home for 8 to 12 hours a day, waiting for someone to come see him. We need a lot of our elders out and about in the community. We need more community support to have (elders) come out just meeting and engaging with people,” Hammond said.  Besides the classes he instructs, Badillo said that he goes on a daily walk back and forth across his block to keep himself active.  “I wish everybody in El Paso knew how to save a life,” Badillo said. “(Something) may happen at home, at the office, the mall, or the street. You can never tell. It can happen at any time, so you have to be prepared to help someone.”  Badillo said that even after receiving the knowledge and training to administer CPR, it is fundamental for a person to remain calm to properly administer it.  “The main thing that you need to keep in mind is don’t let emotions take over. You know how to save a life, but do not let emotions take over or you will lose them (person in need),” Badillo said. To learn more about Texas Save A Life and the services they offer, you can visit their website by clicking here: https://texassavealife.com