WEARTV.com
OKALOOSA COUNTY, Fla. — Electric shock, cardiac arrest, and a return to life that beat the odds. It’s “EMS Week”, and it has special meaning for an Okaloosa County family.
With a sister who’s a paramedic, Levi Buttrill is used to hanging out with emergency crews. He never thought he’d need their services. But in January, he received a severe electric shock while working in a bucket trimming trees. Buttrill said, “Apparently I was snoring when they were bringing me down. And once they tried to actually pull me out, I quit breathing and he started....and this has been one of my best friends for fifteen years and he started doing CPR on me.”
The co-worker started CPR immediately, on the instruction of a 911 dispatcher. An Ocean City/Wright fire chief soon arrived and took over. The EMS crew took over next. Keeping the heart beating is everything. EMT Mason Salsgiver said, “The time that your heart’s not beating, your brain’s not getting oxygen and as long as you’re brain’s not getting oxygen, cells are dying. So you’re going to lose function the longer you don’t have a heartbeat.”
Read full story: Tree cutter who was electrocuted escapes brain damage thanks to EMS crews