Alachua County Fire... Saving Lives
Published January 4th, 2013
GAINESVILLE - On September 24th, Dave Feather's heart stopped beating. "One moment I was perfectly fine and the next moment I was out." Feather suffered from a sudden cardiac death. And luckily for him, rescue Lieutenant Jennifer Blakeney with the Alachua County Fire Rescue assisted in his resuscitation. Blakeney says, "Because we were able to get there so quickly, and because of the cpr being done by his wife and gfr prior to our arrival was very helpful in his survival."
Feather did not wake up for two days however blakeney went back to the hospital to visit her patient and still checks on him. "That made me feel great that she made such a major contribution to my being able to recover and she's just happy as i am that i am doing this well as I am," Feather says.
Feather is one of the many success stories in Alachua county. According to the National Cardiac Arrest Registry, the national average of cardiac arrest patients resuscitated is less than 25 percent. But for the Alachua County Rescue that rate is just over 37 percent.
Harold Theus has worked at the Alachua County Fire Rescue for 18 years. He is now the Assistant Chief of Emergency Medical Services. Theus with the alachua county fire rescue says their success in great part has a lot to do with the support system the town has built up.
"We're fortunate enough to live in a medical community, so shands has a large number of employees... North florida, the va medical center... So it's really a system-wide approach. It's a system-wide success and we share that success with everybody," Theus says.
While Blakeney's helped Alachua County Fire Rescue's save rate, to feather it means much more than that. Feather says, "She has put so much heart into what she does. She genuinely cares about the folks that she comes to pick up," Blakeney says, "He was really sweet he told me that he loved me and that we would be bonded for life."
Feather adds, "It's great to know that this is more than just a job, that they genuinely care about the people they come to help. Feather not only wears a defibrillator now but has made a longtime friend too.
Reporter:
Stephanie Bechara
