By Keith Gushard
The Meadville Tribune
TOWNVILLE, Pa. 鈥� Three members of Townville Volunteer Ambulance Service have been honored for helping one Townville -area resident beat the odds last year.
Shane Taylor, Dan Frantz and Justin Sullivan were quick on the scene to aid a 72-year-old man who went into full cardiac arrest at his daughter鈥檚 home around noon back on Oct. 17 last year.
Cardiac arrest happens when the heart suddenly stops beating or beats so fast it actually stops pumping blood. It can be fatal within minutes since the heart isn鈥檛 pumping blood to deliver oxygen to a body鈥檚 organs.
More than 356,000 people have an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the United States every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ). Of those, up to 80 percent die before reaching a hospital.
All three men were near the ambulance station when Crawford County 911 made a dispatch around noon that day for chest pains at a home a couple of miles north of the borough.
Taylor, a paramedic, and Frantz, an ambulance driver and quick response squad member, met at the hall to get the ambulance while Sullivan followed in his work truck. They were at the scene in about three minutes 鈥� and it was someone they all knew.
鈥淲e pulled into the driveway and the family came running out, saying, 鈥楬e鈥檚 out! He鈥檚 out! He鈥檚 out!鈥欌�� Taylor said. 鈥淗e was on one of the beds, just kind of gasping at that point. We kind of already knew he was in cardiac arrest at that point. We double-checked for a pulse and didn鈥檛 find one. Justin and I got him on the floor and started (chest) compressions.鈥�
Meanwhile, Frantz got a bag valve mask to put over the man鈥檚 face to resuscitate his breathing.
The man was then hooked up to the ambulance鈥檚 portable automated external defibrillator (AED) used to aid in surviving sudden cardiac arrest.
鈥淲e ended up delivering one shock,鈥� Taylor continued. 鈥淧robably within a minute of that he started breathing on his own. We checked his pulse and a heartbeat back. In about about five minutes, the patient opened his eyes and tried to sit up.鈥�
The patient was taken to the hospital where he was able make a recover and return to a normal life 鈥� including being at Townville Old Home Days this summer, an event which honored the trio.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just rare,鈥� Sullivan said of having a person in full cardiac arrest make a recovery, let alone such a strong one. 鈥淎 lot of times we don鈥檛 see it.鈥�
All three credit their training when handling such a life-threatening emergency.
鈥淗onestly, the training kicks in and you don鈥檛 see their faces,鈥� Taylor said of the patient or onlookers such as family. 鈥淵ou don鈥檛 put a face to anything until after the fact.鈥�
鈥淵ou kind of stress out afterward,鈥� Sullivan said.
鈥漎ou鈥檙e so involved with what鈥檚 going on you just want to get them going if it鈥檚 possible,鈥� Frantz said.
Bill Taylor, Shane鈥檚 father and the chief of Townville Volunteer Ambulance Service , agrees.
鈥淚鈥檝e run over 10,000 calls either as a volunteer or paid EMT and I鈥檝e only had five saves,鈥� the elder Taylor said. 鈥淭his is a big deal.鈥�
Bill Taylor got life-saving recognition plaques, pins and certificates for the three from EMMCO West Regional Emergency Medical Services Council which were presented at Old Home Days.
鈥淲e need more community-minded people like them to be involved in rural areas,鈥� Bill McClincy, executive director of EMMCO West, told The Meadville Tribune.
(c)2024 The Meadville Tribune (Meadville, Pa.)
Visit The Meadville Tribune (Meadville, Pa.) at meadvilletribune.com
Distributed by
