Editor,
March 27 was just like any ordinary day/evening, until it wasn’t. My husband and I had both just arrived home in the evening when he began having a medical emergency.
He fell to the ground and began having difficulty breathing. Not having a medical background, I was not sure what was happening, so I dialed 911. Then, my husband stopped breathing. The Dispatcher walked me through performing chest compressions until the Biddeford Fire and Rescue personnel arrived only minutes later.
The team quickly went right to work. They moved me to an area of my home where I was unable to see what was happening, in efforts to keep me calm. After what seemed like an eternity I heard them say they had a pulse.
They transported him to Southern Maine Health Care to stabilize him, and ultimately transferred to Maine Medical Center where we were told they needed to put in a stent because he had a heart attack.
The Cardiologist at Maine Medical Center, Dr. Ryan, gave me a breakdown of everything that happened that night along with the timeline. He said that my husband is alive today because of the prompt quality of teamwork done by everyone involved.
From the time I called 911, to the time that the stent was put in, the total time was 90 minutes. He praised the Biddeford Fire Department personnel for the professional and successful work that they do every day, and he considers them great partners.
Dr. Ryan was so impressed that he used my husband’s case in a recent training session that he provided and even invited the Biddeford rescue crew that worked on my husband to attend this session.
We want to personally thank everyone involved with helping us, including the 911 Dispatcher, Biddeford Police Department, Biddeford Fire Department, Southern Maine Health Care, Maine Medical Center and all of our family and friends who have helped us through this time. We are truly grateful for all of you!
I also want to share that the Biddeford Fire Department offers CPR classes. I, along with family members and friends will be taking this opportunity to learn CPR. You never know when you may need to help save a life. Information on the CPR classes can be found on the Biddeford Fire Department website
Brenda Gobeil
Biddeford
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
