HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018 11-19 Anatomy of surviving a cardiac event MAPLEWOOD REVIEW
Anatomy of surviving a
cardiac event
Submitted by admin on Mon, 11/19/2018 - 10:30am
Maplewood emergency services honored for saving
life
“Very few people survive a cardiac event,” said Maplewood firefighter and paramedic Rochelle Hawthorne. “For
people to survive, it really takes a whole community effort.”
The Maplewood community rallied and rescued a man from the brink while he suffered a cardiac event at the
Maplewood Community Center in March.
The man overexerted himself playing basketball. He starting feeling bad, sat down and soon collapsed.
“The reason this guy survived is because bystanders recognized what was happening,” said Hawthorne.
Those bystanders ran over and began CPR, using their hands to apply pressure to the fallen man’s chest to stimulate
his stopped heart. Others called 911 and ran around the community center in the hope of finding anyone else who
could help.
As it would happen, a Maplewood police officer was in the building working an off-duty event. The officer called their
partner, did more CPR and applied an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to the man.
Officer Tony Gabriel arrived on the scene to help with CPR. “It was the first time I’d done it before in 14 years,” he
said.
The man started to come to and paramedics, including Hawthorne, arrived. The paramedics started an IV, checked
his vitals, performed an EKG to monitor the man’s heart and strapped him onto a stretcher — they got him
“packaged” as its called, said Hawthorne.
Building a prepared community
She said the man was taken to the hospital and doctors took over doing a great job, on top of the response from the
paramedics and police. But Hawthorne said the vigilant and responsive bystanders are who really made the life-
saving story possible.
“I can’t give the citizens who stepped in enough credit,” she said.
The Maplewood emergency services team was recognized by the city during a city council meeting and by the
Minnesota Wild during the organization’s emergency services night. The man, who survived, made it to both nights
along with his family.
At the Wild game, the group got to lead the crowd in screaming “Let’s play hockey.”
Hawthorne, who has been with Maplewood emergency services for seven years, said it was great to see the man
after his cardiac event. “We rarely get to see what happens after we bring someone to the hospital. It’s like, right onto
the next thing.”
She said getting to see him walking and talking and “completely neurologically intact” was “cool enough,” but said it
was especially great to be able to hear from his family.
Hawthorne said the groups warmly greeted each other at the Wild game.
“There is kind of a bond you experience when you go through something like that with someone,” she said.
The bond of a community prepared for a cardiac event is one Hawthorne said Maplewood is working toward through
constantly training its emergency service personnel, while offering hands-only CPR training for lay people.