ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Two Navy Recruiting District (NRD) Miami Sailors rendered cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to an unresponsive passerby, March 21, in the parking lot of Navy Recruiting Station (NRS) St. Petersburg.
Cryptologic Technician Maintenance 1st Class Jason Czyzowski and Operations Specialist 2nd Class Curtis Thomas rushed to the aid of an unconscious man after Army recruiters informed them of the situation and requested assistance.
“I ran post haste out the front of the building, and saw a crowd of civilians standing around with one lady in obvious distress and very distraught, and another individual kneeling at the side of the victim attempting to conduct rescue breathing,” said Czyzowski. “A crowd of on lookers hovered around the scene with many of them on their phones trying to call paramedics. I kneeled down next to the man on the ground, noting as much as I possibly could; no chest movements, skin pale, eyes half rolled back; faint, but present pulse. Upon listening more closely, I did not hear breath coming from his mouth. I assumed control of the situation, ensuring that people had actually called 911 and weren’t simply recording,” Czyzowski added.
While Czyzowski commenced CPR, Thomas backed him up by ensuring that he employed proper technique, and also through providing on-scene management.
“At this point, a good Samaritan stepped in to help, and took stance over his body to do chest compressions, while I did rescue breaths, and monitored,” said Czyzowski. “He started too high, near the collar bone, but OS2 Thomas and I corrected him quickly, showing him where to push. We continued for two more cycles after which the victim regained a moment of consciousness and began labored breathing on his own.”
Petty Officer Thomas recalls the moments before he learned of the dire situation while working with one of his Future Sailors.
“I was working with an applicant at the time, and I heard someone open the front door asking if we knew CPR,” said Thomas. “I told the applicant that we needed to go outside. I saw the unconscious man and I tried to help out for a brief second, and called 911, but they were already en route. I then notified my supervisor and continued to assist CTM1. I just tried to help keep the scene safe and help in any way needed. It’s what any Sailor would do in that situation,” Thomas said. “The training that we get is for a reason. It happened so fast, and we were on auto pilot, but we knew how to operate thanks to our experience.”
Thomas stated that upon arrival to the scene and assessment of the situation, one paramedic said that if it were not for the Sailors’ efforts, this victim may not have survived.
As part of their training and qualifications, all Navy recruiters are required to receive and regularly update their CPR training. According to the American Heart Association, CPR saves more than 92,000 lives a year.
“We are all very proud of the courageous and honorable actions of our Sailors in rendering aid to help save a life. They truly personified our Navy Core Values,” said Cmdr. Delmy Robinson, NRD Miami commanding officer.
The mission of NRD Miami is to recruit high quality, diverse Future Sailors to meet the strategic manning requirements of America’s Navy.
The territory covers three major metropolitan areas in Florida including Tampa, Fort Lauderdale and Miami, as well as the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
| Date Taken: | 03.23.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 03.23.2018 18:01 |
| Story ID: | 270478 |
| Location: | ST PETERSBERG, FL, US |
| Web Views: | 238 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, NRD Miami Sailors Save A Life, by SCPO Kimberly Martinez, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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