First Aid Corps

Jenelle Splinter saved the life of Charlotte Chudej thanks to quick thinking and an available Automated External Defibrillator.

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“I kept telling her come on Char, you can do this you can do this you know and hoping that maybe she can hear me.”

Splinter never thought she would have to use the AED at the Plover VFW bar and restaurant. When she started working at the bar, she asked why there was no AED on site. As a nursing student, she knew how important they can be in life-threatening situations.

“Every building should have an AED,” she said.

After doing some research, Splinter got one donated by the local authorities. Little did she know it would mean the difference between life and death for one VFW regular.

Char Chudej suffered a heart attack during the VFW’s annual Christmas party in December. Splinter was working that night, and jumped to action when Chudej lost consciousness. With the help of several others in the restaurant, including a volunteer firefighter, Splinter gave Chudej CPR.

Using the AED on site, Splinter was able to follow directions and give Chudej the correct care.

Stevens Point Firefighter Jb Moody said that’s exactly why AEDs are important life-saving tools.

“They are very easy to use. Somebody with no medical knowledge still can use them.”

Chudej survived, and Splinter couldn’t be happier.

Although AED’s cost around 1,000 dollars, Splinter says that’s a small price to pay to potentially save someone’s life. “Totally worth the money for a life, even if it’s just one life,” she said.

Nathan Cruz of Spring Township wears many hats.

He’s a senior at Wilson High School, a busboy at the Circle S Ranch House Restaurant, and now, you can add the title lifesaver.

“I just want to help people, that’s the only reason why I’m doing the training I’m doing,” Nathan said.

Nathan is referring to the training he receives for his other career as a member of the Western Berks Fire Department.

The training came in handy while working at the restaurant this weekend.

A wheelchair-bound senior citizen started choking on her meal and then blacked out.

Though Nathan had only trained performing CPR on mannequins, he responded quickly and professionally.

He performed the Heimlich Maneuver then administered CPR and it worked.

Nathan’s coworkers and fellow firefighters could not be prouder.

“He’s gone above and beyond the training what we asked for in taking the Emergency Medical Technician class and, just in general, [Nathan] is an upstanding citizen of the community,” Western Berks Fire Commissioner Jeffrey Weidner said.

The soft-spoken 18-year-old insists he is no hero, but don’t tell that to his mom.

“I know better. He’s a complete hero in my eyes,” Nathan’s mom Pamela Cruz said.

The woman Nathan rescued is recovering in Reading Hospital. Her family wanted tell Nathan two things: he is a hero and thank you.

About 7:30 Tuesday evening, Deputies Jason Comans and Ryan Robinson joined Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Josh Tucker and Corporal Michael Tucker for a meal break at at Smokey’s Real Pit Bar-B-Que on Pensacola Boulevard.

Their meal was quickly interrupted when they noticed a female, later identified as Escambia resident Helen Clark, 55, pass out and fall to the floor.

As the deputies and troopers rushed over to administer first aid, they noticed that Clark was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse.

Deputy Comans and Trooper Tucker immediately began CPR while Deputy Robinson rushed out to his patrol vehicle and retrieved an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Deputy Robinson applied the AED to Clark’s chest and was prompted to continue CPR. Deputy Robinson gave Clark rescue breaths while Trooper Tucker performed chest compressions. A shock was then administered by the AED.

The officers continued CPR and by the time Escambia County EMS arrived, Clark had a pulse and was breathing on her own.

Clark, now conscious and alert, was able to thank these officers before being transported to Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment.

“Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies are trained yearly in First Aid, CPR and the use of AED’s. The time and expense it takes to train all our deputies paid off,” said Chris Welborn, public information officer for the ECSO. “Sheriff (David) Morgan is very proud of the deputies involved in this incident and hopes Helen Clark fully recovers and enjoys this holiday season with her family and friends.”

65-year-old Silverthorne resident Jim Phillips and his wife, Kay, were taking a couple friends out for dinner July 26.

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The group was snacking on guacamole at a table near the bar at about 5:30 p.m. when one of their friends noticed Jim’s “color was awful,” Kay Phillips said. His eyes were closed and mouth was open.

She gripped his arm to keep him from falling off the chair.

“He was just total dead weight,” she said.

Jim Phillips was experiencing cardiac arrest.

Jim Phillips the Survivor

Local Dr. Heidi Worth was in the restaurant and immediately started CPR with the help of other medical professionals who happened to be there.

Frisco police officers arrived with the automatic external defibrillator, which is deployed in squad cars across the county through a federal program.

Summit County Ambulance Service medics and firefighters with Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue arrived moments later. The ambulance people worked with Jim on the scene for 31 minutes before taking him to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center in Frisco.

He was later flown to St. Anthony Central Hospital in Denver, where two stents were inserted into the artery that had been blocked.

Jim Phillips doesn’t recall much of the experience beyond taking his seat at the restaurant.

“The chairs were high. I just let (my shoes) drop,” he said. “And that was it.”

Phillips returned to the restaurant Thursday with one of the automated defibrillators that helped save his life. He also shared a table with the first responders. Thursday’s reunion included people from the fire district and ambulance service, and the medical professionals who were on the scene during the incident.

Phillips donated a defibrillator to the restaurant through his employer, Silver Springs Citrus of Florida, after hearing about a cardiac arrest victim elsewhere who wasn’t so fortunate.

“If it helps somebody, then great,” he said.

Brett Flanagan and Kendra Hicok, a restaurant manager and server at The Grill at Quail Creek, were honored at a Green Valley Fire District board meeting for saving the life of a World War II veteran who had a heart attack in the restaurant in October.

Flanagan says his co-worker, who was first on the scene, assessed the situation and determined that the man’s heart had stopped.

They used an Automated External Defibrillator (AED), which administers an electric shock, to revive the victim, who is now recovering.

GVFD’s administrative chief Katie Sayre said many businesses and churches in Green Valley are equipped with AEDs.