By EMS1 Staff
NORTH COVENTRY, Conn. — An EMT thanked his colleagues, including his wife, for saving him when he suffered a heart attack.
WFSB reported that North Coventry Fire Department volunteer EMT Ron Hodgkins was helping out a holiday event in the community when he began to experience chest pains.
“It was quite painful and I started sweating and I took my jacket and I knew I had some problems,” he said.
Ron was immediately treated by colleagues and his wife, volunteer EMT Linda Hodgkins, helped him into the ambulance after arriving quickly.
“It was only two steps away,” Linda said. “He took the second step, looked at me and said, ‘I’m going down.’ So, we got him laid out on the stretcher, I felt for a pulse and I said, ‘he doesn’t have a pulse.’”
Linda kept her composure and performed CPR on Ron.
“I don’t think I panicked because I knew we needed to do something to save him,” she said.
Paramedics then arrived with an AED and revived him.
“We started CPR again and got a pulse back maybe two minutes after the attack,” paramedic David Robinson said.
Ron was transported to the hospital where it was confirmed that he had suffered a massive heart attack.
After returning home to recover, Ron met with the paramedics who saved him.
“Just saying thank you is not enough but that’s all you can say,” he said.
Linda said she’s happy that Ron is alive to spend Christmas with the family this year, and added that learning CPR is the best gift you can give someone.
“If you know what to do you can make a difference, you can save a life and it’s so important,” she said.