Local EMS professionals save life, honored by patient

Some heart attacks are called “The Widow Maker.” The survival rate for those kinds of pulmonary embolisms is very slim, so when an area woman suffered one, three emergency medical professionals — Alyssa Childers, Gorga Hampton and Madalyn Sass, narrowed the gap and got her to recovery.

Angie Barakat wrote about her “guardian angels,” who “brought her back” after her widow-maker heart attack.

“I had quit breathing,” she wrote. “Immediately upon arrival they started CPR. I was already blue and unresponsive.”

Childers, a paramedic with Survival Flight, said the team got a call about a possible heart attack.

“Then they came back over the radio that the person was unresponsive and turning blue,” she said. “We got a heads up of what we were walking into. I was the first person in the door, and I am the one that initiated CPR while my partners were bringing the equipment.”

Hampton, an EMT-B, said that day had already been a little “lucky.”

“It made it a lot easier to have a third person with us,” she said. “We are usually teams of two, but we had extra people that day so Alyssa was able to ride with us.”

From her home to the hospital, Barakat may have “died” up to three time, she wrote. But thanks to the fast work of her “guardian angels” she was able to have a Return of Spontaneous Circulation.

Dr. Bill Worden, medical director for Heartland Medical Direction, said having ROSC which in normal terms means the heart starts beating again, after a heart attack was rare.

One of the things that unfortunately happens is that people die -- especially after a heart attack at home, at Walmart … wherever, and the first responders who respond to it whether it is the general public, police, fire or EMS, and they do all those lifesaving skills like CPR, connecting the defibrillator or giving medications’” he said. “Unfortunately a lot of those people just don’t survive.”

The statistics make this an even more unlikely tale.

“Statically, probably less than 25 percent out of hospital cardiac arrests … survive,” Worden said. “And, even a smaller percentage of that survive to the point when they can leave the hospital as we say ’neurologically intact’ as this person did. That person left the hospital — they get another birthday, they get another Christmas, they get all things things with their families.”

Because of the recovery of Barakat, each of the EMS professionals was given a ROSC coin, handed out by Barakat herself.

“We want to tell the crew with these challenge coins, ‘hey you did a good job,’” Worden said. “You did exactly what we are trained to do. That’s why we practice and train because today you saved a life. Like most jobs, we get scolded all the time but rarely do we get recognized for doing it right. And that’s what this is, it’s a little way to say ‘you did a great job, today you saved a life.’”

At the ceremony, the three EMS professionals were all surprised.

“It was surreal, “ Sass, a paramedic with SFEMS, said. “You don’t get to meet a lot of your patients after you drop them off. Especially when they didn’t have a pulse and now they are alive and well, it’s definitely surreal.”

Hampton agreed.

“I was shocked I think, when she got to the station, she got out the car and I thought ‘Oh my goodness!’ “ Hampton said. “I didn’t know what to think. I think ‘surreal’ was a really good description”

Childers said everything happened just right for this to happen.

“We were all in shock pretty much, most of the time — this is a first for all three of us for someone to survive and be able to walk out,” she said. “Most of the time if they do survive initially, usually they don’t have much brain activity and don’t live very long after that. Everything just played out perfectly. It was really nice to get to see her and meet her in person.”

Hampton said this was a bright spot for all the crews, not just their’s.

“We have had a lot of rough calls this last year, some calls that could be career enders for other people,“ she said. “So for our year to end with this type of call and being able to bring her back — it gives you a lot of perspective on the job. It’s not all bad you know? There is good that comes out of it too. We got to talk to Angie when she got there and I even told her that we had a rough year last year and this was just a good way to get motivated.”

Sass said it was a great reminder for her.

“I know some paramedics don’t get ROSC at all — till two years in to their careers if at all so I feel pretty special getting it — I just got my paramedic (certificate) at the end of September, so I feel really accomplished,” she said. “It was a good reminder of why we do it.”

Worden hopes that everyone will try and take a CPR class.

“There are classes but what most people need to know is: ‘push hard, push fast’ — that’s just CPR in a few words but we want everyone to take CPR training, to understand where to put your hands, when to do breaths, how deep compressions should be — those type of things, but if all you remember is ‘Push hard, Push Fast,’ he said. “I think the other key to that is to not be afraid to do it. If someone is unresponsive and doesn’t have a pulse — CPR is what saves lives. It takes an ambulance anywhere between five and 12 minutes to get on scene or even longer depending on where they are at. If someone suffered a heart attack and doesn’t get CPR for 12 minutes — that’s bad.”

Worden said those who want CPR training for their small group — a family, co workers, high school clubs — that Survival Flight does classes and to call Tre McPherson, Regional EMS director at 405-694-7656.