By FDNY
NEW YORK — If ever there was proof that bystander CPR saves lives, this would be it.
Just before 8 a.m. on Aug. 17, Rescue Paramedics Eddie Radovic and Sorffly Davius were called to Bedford Avenue and 12th Street in Brooklyn. Paramedic Radovic said bystanders began waving them to the scene when they were about a half block away.
There they found a man in his 50s lying on the ground, with another doing chest compressions on him.
The paramedics grabbed their gear and took over CPR. The victim was in cardiac arrest, so they restarted his heart with a defibrillator. They continued CPR as they moved him to a stretcher and into the ambulance.
But, Paramedic Radovic said they were surprised by what happened on the way to Woodhull Hospital: “He woke up right in front of us, which was kind of a shock. In situations like this, you never really get a chance to speak with the person, but this guy was oriented, looking at me and talking to me.”
After the man was admitted to the hospital and EMS members were ready to return to duty, Paramedic Radovic said he checked on the victim one more time. The man thanked them and said he did not have any previous medical conditions and was very fit, so he was surprised by what happened.
Now, although he had some minor discomfort following the incident, he said he otherwise felt fine.
“Everyone was taken aback by how he was progressing,” said Paramedic Radovic, who’s a 7-year veteran of the FDNY.
Yet the paramedic added that the mystery man who did bystander CPR was critical to saving this man’s life: “If he hadn’t started CPR initially when [the victim] fell, I don’t think he would have had much of a chance.”
This was an extra special rescue for Paramedic Radovic, who celebrated his birthday on Aug. 16.
“What a great present,” he said with a laugh. “This is why I do what I do.”
Republished with permission from FDNY.