By Heather Skinner
CARLISLE — During a 2-week Albany Medical Center stay 6 months ago, Carl Perez was nicknamed “The Miracle Boy,” “The Wonder Child,” and “The One Who Came Back.” Rebecca Guarino recounted, “We were just having a gathering for Christmas Eve (at Lamb of God Worship Center in Carlisle) and very suddenly Carl went down.”
On a separate occasion on May 10th, Little Deb’s in Richmondville shared on Facebook, “Thursday night our business experienced an unexpected medical emergency on-site. We are incredibly grateful to the first responders who arrived quickly and provided expert care. We want to extend our deepest thanks to the customers who stepped in, your quick thinking and willingness to help made a meaningful difference during a critical time.” The post ended with, “We’re relieved to report that the individual involved is doing well. We are truly grateful to have such amazing people in our community.”
Guarino (now a registered nurse), Christian More, and Ariana Nero from the Worship Center, and a Cobleskill-Richmondville Little League Coach at Little Deb’s were all CPR certified before witnessing these medical emergencies. They attended Fulton Montgomery Community College (FMCC) American Heart Association (AHA) Heartsaver First Aid, CPR, and AED classes taught by Nursing Instructor Lisa Rendina and Skills Lab Coordinator James Stasack.
Brought to Albany Med. in his 1st ever helicopter ride, Perez was awake for one of 3 defibrillations and spent 1 week in intensive care & 1 week in rehab. His healing continued at home with a walker and nurse and physical therapist visits.
Perez doesn’t need a walker anymore, goes to the gym, and says he feels better than before! Perez’s wife, Lorraine, shared she’s grateful for being able to have this 2nd chance with him.
During a July 26th CPR class Perez’s friends and fellow churchgoers completed to learn training that saved him, Perez said, “When I was in the hospital, many people endeavored to save my life, and I would thank them all endlessly, and they all said, ‘we did not save your life, the people that saved your life are the instantaneous appliers of the CPR, people who knew what they were doing and instantly reacted.’ ” Perez also credited, “It was the hand of God.”
An EMT told Perez there’d been 5 cases like his, his being the 5th, and Perez was the only one who made it.
Stasack stated, “The odds of the person walking out of the hospital later drops about 10% every minute that nobody’s doing CPR.”
When Guarino visited Perez at the hospital, an EMT told her, “Congratulations on being one of the 10%.” Guarino said, “It wasn’t just me; it was everyone here who helped that day,” and explained 90% of adults who have cardiac events in the community don’t come back to baseline level of function after, but the EMT encouraged, “Even if there’s a chance that that is going to be that one person out of 10 that’s going to come back, it’s worth it to get trained to know CPR and be able to step in and help.”
Guarino pointed out that she, More, and Nero provided Perez with CPR for about 15 minutes and that even 4 minutes straight of CPR is tiring, “But when you learn it the right way and more and more people know how to do it, then we’re going to do it right and we’re going to increase our chances.” Adding that training through someone like Rendina is so important because, " You really do have to do it correctly in order for that person to get to the hospital and still be able to be brought back.”
Guarino expressed, “It was an amazing experience, and I think that’s why so many people in our church family are so excited about doing CPR. Because we all witnessed what happened, but we also witnessed the good that came out of responding quickly.”
On June 4th, Little Deb’s Facebook page shared photos from a CPR certification class their employees completed. The post expressed pride in their team, “…not just for completing their CPR and first aid training, but for the dedication and care they show every single day. Knowing they’re prepared to step up and save a life if needed is comfort beyond words. Here’s to a team that goes above and beyond- every day, in every way!”
Debbie Winnie confirmed the medical emergency in May prompted their team to take the class saying, “I do believe workplaces should have their team CPR and first aid certified.”
In Little Deb’s post’s comments, Kathy Moller expressed, “Wow, friendly service with a smile, amazing ice cream and goodies, and caring for the community. You guys are the BEST!” Little Deb’s is located at 1524 State Route 7 in Richmondville; they share menu specials and upcoming events on their Facebook page.
In each AHA Heartsaver class, Rendina and Stasack alternate between watching videos, then practicing what you learned. Manikins are equipped with digital report systems providing helpful feedback on technique. Within about 2 hours, you leave certified in Adult and Infant CPR and with a skillset including identifying scene safety, medical information jewelry, and symptoms of heart attacks, stroke, Epilepsy, and anaphylaxis. Also, using AEDs and helping choking infants, adults, and those who are pregnant or in a wheelchair. Common foods that are the highest choking hazard include grapes, hot dogs, and popcorn.
They bust myths about administering CPR and teach about nasal spray Naloxone Kits for overdoses that can take place after surgeries, etc. and Stasack mentioned grant funding for Naloxone Kits is available.
They suggest talking to those in your life with Diabetes to understand what they have in their toolkits in case of an emergency and becoming familiar with your first aid kits to add CPR tools maybe not included like portable face masks and a razor.
You use disposable face shields and masks during the class and receive a keychain face shield to take with you. The instructors are thoughtful with accommodation, bringing kneepads for your time spent on the floor and manikins can be used on raised surfaces as needed. It’s true that Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees is the perfect metronome for chest compressions, and it is highly likely you will get to hear it played during class!
Rendina hopes to be able to nominate the Little League Coach who used their CPR certification skills during the Little Deb’s medical emergency for a Heartsaver award as she did with Guarino after the Worship Center emergency.
It was also confirmed that a Richmondville Soccer Club Coach who recently got CPR certified through Rendina’s class, “Had to administer Narcan and felt comfortable doing so after receiving their first aid/CPR training.” She highlighted three saves from participants of these Heartsaver classes in Schoharie County within only a year’s time.
Those 3 saves aren’t including Rendina’s time as a Camp Nurse at Schoharie’s Community Camp, where she saw a girl with known anaphylaxis start having a reaction. Rendina was ready to administer the Epinephrine injection, but realized many people hesitate in that scenario out of fear of hurting the patient and warned that shying away in those moments is how people die. Rendina includes EpiPen trainers in her Heartsaver classes.
In Rendina’s CPR classes for athletic clubs, she also includes how to pay attention and respond in situations with ice packs under armpits, etc. for overheating and dehydration when kids can’t find the words to explain why they are “feeling funny.”
Rendina is excited to share lifesaving knowledge and see successes in medical emergencies within Schoharie County having a trickle effect that’s inspiring businesses and friends of survivors to learn CPR and be prepared for anything. She said FMCC just got certification to also teach Stop Bleed Training, and Richmondville EMS House allows them to teach courses there to host bigger class sizes and train their staff. Rendina said, “So many people have come together between Ellis being our training hub, then FM purchasing the equipment, empowering the instructors, allowing us to reach out not just as Nurse Educators but promoting health, which nurses should do. Our students and graduates from the program are continuing to do that and then people we train are just saving lives, and in rural communities that’s a big deal because every minute counts.”
They keep their classes affordable, so cost doesn’t become a deterrent to learn. Rendina expressed, “I’m not a big corporation looking to get rich. We’re truly stemmed from FM as educators planting seeds, reaching out, letting them know FM exists in their backyard.”
Rendina explained that Heartsaver CPR is for people in the community who want to learn lifesaving CPR, and those who complete the class will be emailed an official AHA Heartsaver certification that is good for 2 years and useful, “For employment, coaching, babysitting, etc.”
Individuals, businesses, athletic clubs, those nearing your 2-year recertification, schools, and teachers (Rendina’s AHA CPR training fits standards for Governor Kathy Hochul’s recent legislation requiring every public school in New York to have a cardiac emergency response plan in place), email Lrendina@fmcc.edu to schedule your CPR certification class.
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