Randy Cassingham's Blog

Posted by Dominic, West Virginia on July 3, 2009:

Congratulations! As a retired paramedic of 22 years beginning in 1972 through 1994, I applaud your efforts. A good portion of my years were as a volunteer in West Virginia and we have our share of rural spaces. I moved up the food chain to paid staff, flight medic, management. Those are other stories. Suffice it to say, AED's and CPR are lifesavers but good people, willing to volunteer are just as important.

KUDOS!

Posted by Jessica Sacramento california on July 4, 2009:

It is always nice to read a nice heart touching story. My daughters have a seizure disorder so I have always been CPR and first aid certified but I was surprised to learn that most classes don't teach you seizure training so I always try to tell people if you are going to train go the extra mile and get seizure trained as well; you never know when it may be needed.

Posted by Ivy in South Africa on July 4, 2009:

I read your 'This is True" column every week, usually while shaking my head at the stupidity.
This story was inspirational. Well done to both of you for being the people you are and for what you are able to do to help other people. It's people like you who give me hope for the whole of mankind. Thank you for publishing the story.

Posted by Sunny, Montauk, NY on July 4, 2009:

Thanks for the story, I always like to hear when we in EMS actually do make a difference.

But it is the first First Responder who saved that guy, his daughter. You are right, CPR and AED are extremely important to saving the lives of cardiac arrest patients, and that is why I'm a CPR-AED Instructor as well as an EMT. Defibrillation only works if the tissues are viable, and the daughter kept them that way long enough for you to arrive.

Congratulations on the save. They are far too few times that we get the patient to the hospital alive, and even fewer times that the patient goes home that way.

Posted by Brian Mackay, Australia on July 4, 2009:

In Queensland, Australia where I live they have implemented a rural numbering system to save lives in emergencies like you mention - as well as being darned convenient.

Each property has a steel star picket at its driveway with a cover on the top with reflective numbers stuck on. The numbering system is based on distance from a road intersection or other landmark in metres divided by ten.

It is so handy if you are at 689 & looking for 789 you know it is a kilometer ahead. Slight variations occur because of driveways close together but that's basicly it.

A great idea was that the councils gave the contracts for installing them to community groups like the Lions etc to install them so it gave them an extra income & installing only required a person with a car & star picket driver.

Before this was implemented, our road had about 8 Lot 2's because of subdividing over the years. If a marker is damaged or stolen then a new one is fitted free of charge by the council.

Posted by Joe Wolf, Denver on July 4, 2009:

There's a special place in heaven for you and your team, and all your brethren in arms. The Talmud says that a person who saves just one life is as if he had saved the world.

As a memorial to my parents, I purchased a defib for the synagogue they attended, for years, before they moved away. (My older brother in Baltimore, where my parents had moved, in their 80's, had done this, so the idea wasn't mine.) This required several members of the congregation to take classes in its use, etc.; and, shortly thereafter, a congregant who was choking was saved by a member who had learned Heimlich in that class! Every house of worship -- especially one where "we older folks" attend, should have one, and people trained to use it. Same old story: better to have it and not need it than to need it and not have it.

Posted by Volker Beyler, Germany on July 4, 2009:

Thanks for this story. I learned paramedic while doing my civil service (instead of joining the army), and so far, I had to do CPR only on dummies. Thanks God I never had to do it for real, but on the other hand, I'm sure I could do it. (I don't work as a paramedic, I'm a computer geek.)

You are right, there have to be lots of people knowing CPR and First Responders are a very good thing. Here in Germany, often people tend to think it isn't their responsibility, it should be something the professionals should attend. They are wrong.

Thank you also to Brian from Australia. The system you've got seems like a very good one, especially in the not-so-crowded regions of outback Australia. I've been there in 1992, and I liked it very much.

To everybody else: learn CPR, support First-Responder teams and every professional paramedic. Look that your address is easily findable. In most towns in Germany, that's easy, but there are also towns in rural areas where the house numbers are given by the time they were built, so it's hard for any outsider to know where number 319 is...

Posted by Ed. Pocono Mts. of PA on July 4, 2009:

A local high school lost a 15 year old during a basketball game a few years ago. His parents started a fund to supply defib machines to all nearby schools. The drive was so successful that not only do ALL the local schools have them, but now they are available at local malls, shopping centers and libraries. They've been put to good use a few times already...to great success.

Posted by Dexter Guptill, Virginia on July 4, 2009:

Congrats on a good save! They don't like to tell you the actual odds of success in a layman's CPR class, for fear of discouraging people from trying. What the scaredy-cats don't recognize is that when the odds are between "slim" and "none", slim still beats none. It's worth trying. I'm re-certifying at the end of the month, myself. Like Volker, I've only had to do CPR on dummies, and like him I'm grateful for that. Still, it's something that everybody should know.

Posted by Eric Roberts, Aurora, IL on July 4, 2009:

As a former Army Combat Medical Specialist, I understand completely. That is awesome what you and your wife do. Keep up the great work! It's great to know that there are others out there that care for more than just themselves. You guys are awesome!

When I was in the army, they instituted their version of the first responders (which was instigated by my medical platoon) by training solders with advanced medical training so that they could help us on the battlefield by performing life saving techniques on their buddies until we could get there to do the heavy work and prep them for evac to the rear. I think the same is important in the civilian world. In cities and suburbs, EMS is here almost before you hang up the phone, but in rural areas, as you pointed out...it could take some time. I think everyone should learn how to at least do CPR. When someone's heart stops...seconds count. Having someone there immediately doing CPR can mean the difference between life and death.