His daughter, Mandy Birdwell, 41, who first took CPR classes at 14, started CPR on her father while her mother, Connie, called 911.
Mandy Birdwell said the dispatcher, Connor Kuhn, told them “a lot of relief was coming” and about one minute later, she could hear the sirens in the distance.
“That sense of relief is so hard to describe,” Birdwell said.
Her father has fully recovered from his cardiac arrest and those responsible for saving his life were honored during Tuesday’s city council meeting.
They were presented Life Saving Awards from Jordan Jeffries, EMS coordinator for Premier Health that operates Atrium Medical Center.
Jeffries said about 10% of people who suffer cardiac arrest out of the hospital survive, and 7% of them recover to the same medical condition as before the incident.
He described that survival rate as “a needle in a haystack.”
The medical personnel performed their duties “perfectly, exactly the way it was supposed to go,” Jeffries said.
Those recognized: firefighters Travis Terry, Daniel Sewak, Andrew Caron, Jake Zeckser, Lt. Joe Carey, Kuhn and Birdwell.
Monroe Fire Chief David Leverage said life-saving events don’t happen by chance.
“When you invest in people, preparation and resources lives are saved,” he said. “Tonight is living proof of that commitment. These individuals took what they have learned, trusted their training, relied on their tools, and acted decisively.”
Birdwell said her father would have died if “every link in that chain” didn’t work together.
When Birdwell arrived at her parents’ house on Sept. 29 and saw her father lying on the floor, unresponsive and not breathing, “shock is an understatement,” she said.
She takes annual CPR refresher classes and volunteers as a diver at the Newport Aquarium. Still, she never expected to use her CPR skills on anyone, especially her father.
“And God willing never again,“ she told the Journal-News later.
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