LifeSavers  

Webster defines a hero as a person who is admired for courage and achievements.  That being the case, meet Kelly Reiss of the Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary Conservation Parks Staff, and Matt McBrien, the Conservation Projects Coordinator. These two people were going about their workday on Friday, March 30th and ended up saving a life.  That’s quite an achievement!  Now, they don’t think of themselves as heroes, but they fit Webster’s definition and that’s good enough for me.  Besides, it’s my article, and it was my friend Ken they saved.
 
Ken Ogorzalek, a retired Math teacher, is a regular volunteer at the Spring Valley Nature Sanctuary in Schaumburg, IL.  He is a slim, fit, person who eats right, and doesn’t have high cholesterol. He, along with another group of volunteers, was assisting the Spring Valley staff with a controlled conservation burn.  Ken had been talking with Matt’s wife Laura and their 2 ½ year old son Matthew.  He hopped on an ATV, moved it a few feet and stopped.  When Laura looked up, she saw Ken’s arm twitch and then his head fell back.  She approached him and tried to wake him, but he was not responding, apparently unconscious.  Laura alerted another volunteer, Pete, and they both tried again to awaken Ken.
 
Their attempts failed, and they noticed the color was rapidly draining from his face. Pete quickly radioed Matt to alert him of the situation, while Laura went into the visitor’s center office to tell the receptionist there was a problem and to call 911. 
 
Meanwhile, Matt called 911 from his cell phone and made his way over to Ken. Dispatch asked Matt if Ken was breathing. Although Matt had not yet reached Ken, Matt said, “Even from a distance, I could see that his color was not good.” By now, Kelly had pulled up on her ATV, and Matt shouted to her and the others nearby to check if he was breathing.
 
While Matt was on the phone with 911, Kelly began to check Ken further: ABC – Airway Breathing Circulation.  She let Matt know he wasn’t breathing or showing signs of life and he passed that information along to the dispatcher, notified them he was beginning CPR and threw his phone down on the ground.    Matt was still in his fire protection suit with a portable water pump on his back.  He quickly removed his gear and his gloves and began CPR.  After about two cycles, Rich, a local high school teacher and former firefighter who happened to be visiting during his spring break, arrived. He began to assist by doing rescue breaths while Matt did compressions.
 
Soon, Kelly arrived from the visitor’s center office with the Automated External Defibrillator (AED).  Matt tore open Ken’s fire suit, lifted his shirt, and he and Kelly applied the pads. Then they sat back and allowed the AED to analyze. 
 
Matt had never anticipated having to use the CPR training that he’d recently had at his workplace. Kelly thought, “Because of the number of people who come through here, it was a matter of when, not if.” 
 
Matt commented, “I remember seeing Ken…looking at him and seeing how pale he was. Because of it being someone I know well, it was so personal…it seemed more urgent.”
 
Kelly agreed, “It’s hard to keep going when it’s so personal.  The whole experience was surreal.  When it’s someone you know, it’s that much harder to focus.”
 
Obviously Kelly and Matt overcame any misgivings they may have had and let the training they had several weeks earlier at their workplace take over.  Kelly’s only comment about the AED, “It wasn’t the one we trained on and it was difficult to see where to plug in the pads.”
 
An AED is an amazing portable little machine which analyzes a person’s heart rhythm, decides if it is a shockable rhythm, and allows you to shock a person only if his or her heart would benefit from it. It is not possible to shock someone who doesn’t need it, and the Illinois Good Samaritan laws protect those who use it from any liability.
 
Apparently Ken’s heart did need a shock; the AED advised everyone to stand clear because a shock was necessary, and Kelly pushed the shock button. 
 
Is it possible that Ken would still be alive without Kelly and Matt’s quick response and the nearby AED?  Unlikely. Significant brain damage can occur while waiting for the paramedics.  Starting CPR immediately keeps the brain supplied with oxygen. Having an AED on site can restore a heart to its normal rhythm much faster than the paramedics can get there.
 
After the initial shock, the AED then advised, “No shock needed.”  Matt and Kelly found Ken was breathing and had signs of life at that time. They waited for the paramedics while continuing to monitor Ken for breathing and signs of life.
 
Matt retrieved his phone from the ground and was surprised to discover the line to the dispatchers was still open   He relayed the info that Ken had a weak pulse of about 160. Matt saw the ambulance arrive, and got up from the ground to direct them to the scene out in the field and they took over.
 
Three days later, Ken was telling the nurses his name was Juan. They were concerned about brain damage. Everyone who knows Ken was relieved; knowing his wacky sense of humor, they knew that meant he was just fine. Six days later, Ken was home from the hospital, tired, lacking his normal incredible level of energy, but alive and otherwise well. He has no memory of any of the drama of the day, and nothing even of the evening before.
 
Kelly commented, “The biggest thing I walked away from this with is that you don’t have to be perfect.”  Matt is still amazed at the number of things that came together to make this whole scenario work, starting with the fact that his wife was there visiting and noticed Ken’s problem and started the whole ball rolling, when Ken could easily have been alone in a field, potentially laying unnoticed for a long time.
 
I was able to listen to the 911 call, and let me tell you it was more dramatic than any episode of ER or House that I have ever seen.  I got goose bumps when I heard the dispatcher tell Matt and Kelly they’d done an excellent job.
 
I have to agree.  Thank you Kelly and Matt and Rich.  You are amazing.  You are my heroes.
 
Kathy Atwell
President
LifeSavers Health and Safety Training

First Published

July, 2007

Health & Fitness Times