Off-Duty Texas Medics Help Teen Suffering Cardiac Arrest, Prevent a Drowning
Austin, TX - While Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) Medics are accustomed to responding to emergencies while on duty, two ATCEMS Commanders were recently reminded that they are never completely “off-the-job”.
On Wednesday September 16, 2015, ATCEMS Communications Commander Danielle Henson was watching her daughter practice at the Nitro Swim Center in Cedar Park when she witnessed a 15-year-old boy suffer a Cardiac Arrest. Commander Henson, a physician, and a nurse also in attendance intervened performing fifteen cycles of CPR and two defibrillations with an AED. The teen was diagnosed with a cardiac anomaly and has since recovered from the event. Mike Koleber, Nitro Swimming Head Coach, wrote an article about the event that recently appeared in Swimming World Magazine: https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/nitro-swimmings-emergency-response-saves-15-year-olds-life/
On Monday October 5, 2015, ATCEMS Special Operations Commander Craig Smith was providing Swiftwater Awareness training to our recently graduated Cadet Academy class at Prince Solms Park in New Braunfels when he witnessed a young boy repeatedly submerged in the river after falling off his inner tube. Commander Smith immediately identified the cardinal signs of a swimmer in distress and performed a contact rescue swim of the boy. The child was reunited with his parents without further incident. While the incident had a positive outcome, it also provided valuable reinforcement of the intent and lessons learned in water safety training for the new cadets.
GoPro video footage of Commander Smith’s helmet cam: https://youtu.be/kTsDIGvU-ww
