Photo By Staff Sgt. Jamie Titus | Master Sgt. Jeremy Dean, an advanced recruiter with the Nebraska National Guard’s...... read more read more
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“I never thought I would do it once in my life… let alone to do it two times.”
That’s how a Nebraska Air National Guard recruiter described the experience of providing lifesaving measures on two separate occasions.
Master Sgt. Jeremy Dean is an advanced recruiter with the Nebraska National Guard’s Joint Force Headquarters Recruiting and Retention Office in Lincoln, Nebraska. On June 27, 2019, Dean was playing basketball in the Offutt Air Force Base field house when he saw a person collapsed on the ground. Quickly moving up to see what had happened, Dean immediately realized that the stranger needed help. Dean and a second person quickly sprinted to opposite walls where they remembered that an automated external defibrillator (AED) had been installed in case of emergency knowing that mere seconds mattered. An AED is a device that can check the heart rhythm of a patient and attempt to restore it by sending an electric shock.
Dean’s memory was correct and the two found the AED where he thought it would be. Pulling the AED from its holder, Dean sprinted back to where Phillip “Tony” Davis still lay prone on the floor.
Dean said that he had expected to place the AED on Davis to determine if the man needed cardiovascular assistance. From previous experience, Dean said he knew that the AED would quickly give him the answers he needed to potentially save the man’s life.
“I know that if you put the AED on them, it will test them and tell you what to do,” Dean said. “The AED takes the guesswork out of it.”
However, by the time he got to Davis’ side, another bystander had arrived and refused to move over to allow Dean to utilize the AED. Davis wasn’t suffering a cardiac arrest, the bystander said, but rather was having a seizure.
Knowing that having an argument on the floor of the field house would waste precious time, Dean began to administer chest compressions. The skills were something he had learned years earlier. Prior to becoming a recruiter, Dean was a fitness management journeyman for the 155th Force Support Squadron where he was required to take a CPR class.
As Dean moved into position and began administering CPR, Dean said that he remembered several lessons he had learned less than two years earlier when he had to save the life of a fellow Nebraska Airman during a similar episode. In 2018 Dean was credited with helping save the life of Tech. Sgt. Michael Alvarez, who suffered a near fatal heart attack while playing a game of pickup basketball in Lincoln. Only the immediate actions of Dean, Capt. John Kupka, Staff Sgt. Dan Schieffer, Staff Sgt. Matthew Riley and Senior Airman Jonathan Sobetski, including utilizing an AED that they had been recently trained to use in an emergency.
By quickly administering CPR and later using the AED under the additional guidance of Master Sgt. Ron Schroeder, a Nebraska Army National aeromedic with more than 20 years of emergency medical response experience, the Nebraska Airmen were able to save Alvarez, 45, who was later diagnosed with having suffered a 100 percent heart blockage.
“I knew from the last one they said the only reason [Alvarez] had a fighting chance is because we did chest compressions, so I started to administer CPR on him,” Dean said.
As Dean pumped Davis’ chest, the second person arrived back at the scene and quickly began to take Davis’ vital signs. It was quickly determined that Davis no longer had a pulse. “[After that] the guy got out of the way so I could put the paddles on and run the test.”
By the time Dean ran the AED test, members of the base fire department had arrived and took over just as the AED said to administer a shock.
Dean said the parallels between the two situations were startling.
“The fact was this was the same exact heart attack that Alvarez had,” Dean said, adding that the skills he gained during that event had major impact on his response at the field house.
“I was way more calm going through the procedures and what you’re supposed to do versus the other time,” Dean said. “It almost felt like second nature and I knew this is exactly what we needed to do to potentially save this man’s life.”
On April 10, 2021, Dean was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal for his lifesaving actions. The citation noted that he has now saved the lives of two heart attack victims.
In both cases, Dean’s quick actions, knowledge of CPR and the use of an AED were instrumental in saving a life.
Dean said the two experiences have had a definite impact on him.
“My confidence has changed. The first time we all kind of hesitated and didn’t really know what to do and the second time there was absolutely no hesitation at all,” Dean said. “If something happened again, if no one else has any experience, I would jump in and do what I need to do because every second counts when you’re in that situation. A matter of five seconds could mean a life.”
He added that the importance of taking a CPR class can’t be overstated.
“You have absolutely no idea when something like this could happen and it could be just you and the other person,” Dean said. “That’s why I think it would be important just to have a general understanding. You don’t have to be an expert at it but you have no idea what situation you’ll be in.”
Another lesson, he added, was learning to be aware of where AEDs are located when inside a building because there might not be enough time to go looking for it when someone has a heart attack. He said that an AED is easy to use and will tell you exactly what to do as soon as you open it.
“I thought I would hurt him worse because I’m inexperienced, but if you get the AED on them, it will shock him and keep him alive before the EMTs can get everything set up,” Dean said. “The AED will actually tell you ‘there is a heartbeat, a pulse, do not shock.’ It just analyzes it for you when you’re not a medical professional and tells you what to do step-by-step.”
Without this knowledge, both situations could have ended much differently.
“It makes me hope that someone’s there if it ever happens to me. I’m glad they can continue living to see their kids and grandchildren,” Dean said. “I’m just glad I could help out really.”
| Date Taken: | 07.23.2021 |
| Date Posted: | 07.23.2021 14:27 |
| Story ID: | 401626 |
| Location: | NE, US |
| Web Views: | 998 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Every Second Counts: Nebraska Air Guardsman Saves a Life, by SSgt Jamie Titus, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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