N.C. Boy Scout Leaders Help Save SCA Victim

--

June 14--Jeff Merrill was attending the Court of Honor ceremony for Boy Scout Troop 1 when something went wrong.

"I was on the far side of the room. I looked up and walked over, and when I got over there Jeff was turning purple," Joe Jacaruso, Scout master, said.

Merrill, 57, whose son Daniel is a senior patrol leader for the troop, was having what appeared to be a heart attack. Actually, it was much more serious than that. It was sudden cardiac arrest.

"I looked up information about it on one organization's website, and the survival rate is around 7 to 8 1/2 percent," said Merrill, who is now recovering at home from the May 31 incident.

On that night, members and leaders of Boy Scout Troop 1 put their training into action. It happened while refreshments were being served after the ceremony, in which Scouts are awarded merit badges and are recognized for advancement in the troop over the previous months. "I said 'Let's get him down on the floor,' and I turned to someone else and said 'You have to call 911 right now,'" Jacaruso said. Jacaruso, a retired firefighter, and assistant leader Rick Holmes checked Merrill and realized he didn't have a pulse.

Gary Parrish, assistant Scout master, retrieved the church's defibrillator, and he and Jacaruso, along with Holmes, began using it and administering CPR.

"I worked for city of Burlington as a firefighter, so I was familiar with how to use it," Jacaruso said. "We hooked it up and it analyzed him and advised us to shock Jeff, but the first time we didn't get anything so we started administering CPR."

Jacaruso said they proceeded to shock Merrill three times. After the third shock, Merrill was breathing on his own and had a steady heartbeat.

"The firemen came and were giving him oxygen, and he remained conscious until the ambulance arrived," Jacaruso said.

He was treated at Alamance Regional Medical Center through June 2, before being transferred to Duke Heart Center, where he underwent surgery.

Jacaruso said that the setting probably helped save Merrill's life.

"I responded to a lot of heart attacks over the years with the Fire Department and usually the outcome was not positive, because no one knew what to do until wegotthere," Jacaruso said. "So having the defibrillator there was a big plus for Jeff, and having people that knew it was there and knew what to do with it and could take care of him until EMS could get on the scene, saved his life."

Merrill agreed that the troop's response was nearly textbook for the situation.

"CPR alone would never have done it," he said. "There are three elements of success: calling 911, performing CPR and using a defibrillator, and they did all three. That's why I'm sitting here, ready to go back to work."

"All the Scout leaders are CPR trained and a good number of the Scouts are as well," Parrish said. "So we all did what we were trained to do. It was a joint effort."

The traumatic event came only a few months after the troop members went through first-aid training, said Merrill's son Daniel.

Merrill said he called several of the Scouts' fathers, to see how their sons reacted to the experience.

"They all said it was a good thing because it highlighted the value the Boy Scouts puts on first aid," he said. "It is one thing to talk about it in a book but to put it into action. It really helped them see the value."