Life-Savers in a Hurry
New Medics Ace First Field Tests

By GINGER ADAMS OTIS

Fire Department Paramedics Jeanette Otero and Patrick Worms finished their medic training at Randall's Island on Nov. 27, and within three days, each had saved a life.

JEANNETTE OTERO: 'Felt like a miracle.'

Both have been part of the Emergency Medical Service Bureau for several years as Emergency Medical Technicians answering Basic Life Support calls around the city. But neither had ever responded to an Advanced Life Support situation that required them to resuscitate a patient in cardiac arrest.

'Had Great Teachers'

"All I can say is that I had great instructors at the academy," said Paramedic Patrick Worms. "What I know now that I didn't know nine months ago saved a young girl."

Paramedic Worms put his training to the test six hours into his shift Nov. 28. He had attended an FDNY graduation ceremony marking his ascension the day before.

The call came in to him and his new partner, Paramedic Kevin Mazuzan, as a "girl unconscious." The 13-year-old had passed out in her science class at Middle School 301 in The Bronx.

By the time Paramedics Worms and Mazuzan arrived, she'd gone into arrest and a school Nurse and aide were performing CPR.

FDNY Photo Unit PARAMEDICS TO THE RESCUE: Newly-promoted Paramedic Patrick Worms discusses the cardiac arrest patient he saved six hours into his first tour as part of an Advanced Life Support team, while Fire Department Doctor Brad Kaufman (left), Mr. Worms's partner, Paramedic Kevin Mazuzan, and Benjamin Basile (far right), the Principal of the school the 13- year-old patient attended, look on.

'Definitely Nervous'

"The fact that there were trained people at hand to perform CPR played a huge role in her survival," said Mr. Worms. "When we got there we were expecting someone unconscious, so when we confirmed she was in arrest, it became a totally different scene. I was definitely nervous. We didn't think we were going to find a patient with no pulse who wasn't breathing."

Moving swiftly, the two men had the young girl intubated and started a line to administer medication within minutes. Moments later, Paramedic Worms said, the monitor showed a sinus rhythm.

No Distractions

"We were totally concentrated on her and on each other - it was like the rest of the room was blocked out completely," he said. "There were about 15 or 20 Teachers and Administrators around us, but I couldn't even see them. We focused on communicating to each other and getting her what she needed."

With a heartbeat restored, the Paramedics bundled the girl up and got her to a nearby hospital, where she is in stable condition. Doctors are still investigating the cause of her collapse.

Paramedic Otero and her partner, Paramedic Christopher Higgins, got a call partway through their 4 p.m.-to-midnight tour Nov. 30.

"We got a call for an unconscious 23-year-old asthmatic woman," said Ms. Otero, who works out of Station 55 in The Bronx. "We got there and she was blue, absolutely blue, with no pulse and she wasn't breathing."

The Paramedics sprang into action, taking over from the firefighters who had been first on the scene and were busy administering CPR.

'Gone for a Few Minutes'

"We learned that she suffered from asthma and her family said she had been having trouble breathing all day. When we found her, she still had her inhaler in her hand," said Paramedic Otero. "We started a line, intubated her and we got her back, but she was gone there for a couple of minutes."

The fledgling Paramedic said her training came back in a rush and she and her partner fell into a natural rhythm. The patient never regained consciousness at the scene, but they saw signs of her impending recovery.

"When we were packaging her up to go to the hospital, and I listened to her chest and heard that heart thumping, that was the greatest feeling," said Paramedic Otero. "She had been so blue when we arrived, and it felt like a miracle when her color started to return."

She shared credit for the patient's survival with the firefighters who were the first to administer CPR.

"We were working with great people, and everyone did a good job together," Paramedic Otero observed. "It all worked out because everybody did what they had to do."

As of presstime, the young patient had briefly regained consciousness, but was being kept in a medically-induced coma until she was strong enough to breath without intubation.