US Fed News
FORT SILL, Okla. — The U.S. Army issued the following news release:
Jackson County Sheriff’s Office deputy Kevin Walker could have died. During the national police week shootout competition, May 14 at Altus Air Force Base, Walker had a massive heart attack.
The combat lifesaver course here at Fort Sill gave Staff Sgt. Matthew Treadwell the skills he need to save Walker’s life. And he did.
“I was getting ready to go to a shooting competition between all the law enforcement agencies in the local area,” said Treadwell about May 14. “As I was loading the Humvee with all the ammo and supplies for the day, I loaded the standard first aid kit, and someone said let’s bring the ‘special’ combat lifesaver bag just in case. I say special CLS bag because we loaded it with more medical supplies than what is in a normal CLS bag.
“Once we got to the range and started setting everything up for the competition, we were waiting our turn to compete. It was at this time that someone started yelling for a medic because they thought someone was having a stroke in the building next to us. Without even thinking about it I grabbed the CLS bag we had with us and started running toward the building. Once I got into the room where Kevin Walker was, I noticed two things immediately. First, he was definitely not having a stroke due to the symptoms I saw.
Second, he had a locked and loaded Colt 1911 on his belt. This is where the combat lifesaver training kicked in. I say this because 90 percent of what I did from this point was from muscle memory; the other 10 percent was everything else.
“I first made sure the scene was safe by removing his loaded firearm and handing it off.
The second thing I did was check all his vitals and position his head to open his airway. It was then that Special Agent Ross Bergstresser appeared out of nowhere and started in on chest compressions while I was bagging Kevin and was administering air to him. I think we did about seven to eight cycles of CPR until the ambulance arrived. However, during the cycles of CPR on Kevin, he would come in and out of consciousness and we would find and lose his pulse repeatedly. No matter what happened we had made a decision not to stop until an ambulance arrived, no matter how long it took. Once the ambulance did arrived all I remember was a paramedic tapping me on the shoulder and yelling ‘SWITCH!’ Myself and Agent Bergstresser switched out as smoothly as we could and awaited news of Kevin’s situation.
“I have been through six different first aid courses, as well as being a certified CPR and self-aid/buddy care instructor for the Air Force. However I had just finished my third combat lifesaver course the week prior to this event. I truly believe that all the training I had received, especially that from the Army and with a little bit of help from above, we were able to save Kevin’s life. I can say this was definitely a life changing experience and without the ‘No [EXPLETIVE], this is how it is training!,’ as one sergeant put it to me at Fort Sill in the CLS class, things might have turned out differently.”
Thanks to the heroic efforts and quick reactions of Treadwell and Bergstresser, Walker’s life was saved.
“Kevin is fine now,” said Treadwell. “We met a few weeks later after his surgery, and we had a very long talk about everything that happened and life in general, and I am proud to call him my friend. I hope to God that I never have to use the training I learned but I know I am ready and capable of performing when it matters.”
Because of his work schedule with the Jackson County Sheriff’s Department, Walker was unavailable for comment for this story. However, according to a sheriff’s department employee, Walker is fully recovered and back on duty.For more information please contact: Sarabjit Jagirdar, Email:- htsyndication@hindustantimes.com
Copyright 2009 HT Media Ltd.