Post by operator on Apr 14, 2007 9:35:33 GMT -5
EMT's training pays off at home
By ADAM KULIKOWSKI Staff writer
Click photo to enlargeLifesaver: William Little owns and operates Greencastle Lock and Hardware, and is a... (Courtesy)«1»When William Little mistakenly entered an emergency medical technician class more than 25 years ago, he never imagined the class would evolve into a life-long passion -- much less provide the very experience needed to save his wife's life.
Little, who intended only to renew his first aid certification that fateful day decades ago, never imagined his wife would suffer severe cardiac arrest on Jan. 20.
He also never imagined this deed would lead him to be a nominee in America's Most Wanted All-Star contest. AMW honors first responders - law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs and others - who go above and beyond their duty.
Little owns and operates Greencastle Lock and Hardware, and is a member of St. Thomas Volunteer Fire Department, and president of Medic 2. He also serves as an EMS instructor at Marion and St. Thomas. His knowledge, which he has shared with an estimated 85 percent of first responders in Franklin County, saved the life of his wife, Sue. "She told me she always knew that I would save her," Little said.
His wife of 37 years didn't lie.
They were at their Timmons Drive residence in Greencastle when Sue, who had been watching TV in the couple's living room, began to experience an upper respiratory problem. Though she had experienced shortness of breath, she never believed serious cardiac arrest was on the horizon. Little, who had gone to bed shortly before, heard Sue calling for his attention.
"I found Sue in the living room
struggling to breathe," Little said. "I said to myself right there, 'That's it, you just lost your right to make decisions. I'm going to call 911.'"
Moments later Sue was in severe respiratory distress. Little's three decades of training instinctively took hold. He called 911, set up a flare outside their Greencastle home to provide a distinctive signal to paramedics, moved the couple's car to provide a clear path for the medics and attended to his wife.
"Time takes on a different dimension," Little said of the initial moments following Sue's collapse. When you get off the phone with 911 and are like, 'Where are they?' and then realize it has only been 10 seconds. They aren't going to be here in 10 seconds. You become extremely focused."
Medic 203 arrived first with Company 9, and a Mercersburg Montgomery Peters Warren Fire Company ambulance arrived minutes later. "Just as 203 arrived, she went out on us," Little said.
Little, who plans to retire from the EMS later this year, checked Sue's pulse but found none. "John Bender and I did intensive CPR, and after a couple of minutes she developed a rhythm, but it would not sustain life."
So the duo continued. Moments later, Sue developed a rhythm that could be shocked. Still, she could not breathe without help from her husband.
While her condition continued to improve during the trip to Waynesboro Hospital and Sue became responsive just before arriving, trouble remained ahead.
"The whole ordeal was like a roller coaster," Little said. "I'm not a fan of roller coasters in real life and I was certainly not a fan of this one."
For Sue, the ride was far from over.
"Just as we were bringing her into the Emergency Room she had a (sudden cardiac arrest) while she was conscious," Little said. "We had to shock her again."
Patients suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, a normally lethal arythmia, survive less than 20 percent of the time.
"She said she knew she was going to be OK when she didn't see the bright light and her relatives waiting for her."
Sue, one of the few to survive this type of arrest, remained in intensive care for two days before she was taken to Hershey Medical Center for further treatment.
"Sue had exhausted the care the local hospital was capable of providing," Little said. "If she needed open heart surgery, which was a possibility at the time, she would not have been able to receive that at Waynesboro."
With air transport grounded due to thick fog, Sue, clinging to life after suffering another episode, was transferred via Medic 2's Hershey's mobile intensive care unit.
"As long as there is no bad news, it is good news," Little said. So he waited, at times in the waiting room of the Hershey Medical Center, and at other times beside Sue, and prayed.
"Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles can call me," Little said. "There's something out there that is very powerful."
"I don't know how I feel about the AMW All-Star award," Little said. "The prize I got is keeping Sue. That matters more than any amount of money, any trip or anything else someone could provide. As far as I'm concerned, I already won the grand prize."
Little insists those who responded deserve credit for saving his wife.
"This story isn't about me," Little said. "Everyone did the right thing. Everyone did their jobs, just like they do every day. It is about those who responded to help me, about women's health and about health disease."
It is about Little though. Many of the medical staff who responded to Little's 911 call were taught by Little during almost three decades of emergency medical service.
"Every time attention is drawn to an EMS individual, attention is drawn to the EMS system," Little said, diverting attention from his role of the last 25 years.
His wife is quick to give him credit, though.
"One victim of an accident near South Washington Street was all but given up for dead, but Bill saved him. He said no, this person still has a faint chance. That person survived. There have been numerous occasion just like this. I'm not the only one," Sue said.
Prior awards
- Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council Emergency Medical Technician of the Year Recognition Award June 9, 1989.
- Emergency Health Services Federation Inc. regional Emergency Health Services Council, County E.M.S. Council President's Recognition Award 1994
- Emergency Health Services Federation, Inc. Regional Emergency Health Services Council, E.H.S.F. President's Recognition Award 1998
To vote for Little
Those interested in voting for William Little can do so by accessing America's Most Wanted's Web site at www.amw.com/allstar/2007/gallery.cfm. Voting ends at midnight April 15.
Eight finalists, one announced each week through mid April( check), will be entered into a grand prize drawing for $10,000 and other prizes.
By ADAM KULIKOWSKI Staff writer
Click photo to enlargeLifesaver: William Little owns and operates Greencastle Lock and Hardware, and is a... (Courtesy)«1»When William Little mistakenly entered an emergency medical technician class more than 25 years ago, he never imagined the class would evolve into a life-long passion -- much less provide the very experience needed to save his wife's life.
Little, who intended only to renew his first aid certification that fateful day decades ago, never imagined his wife would suffer severe cardiac arrest on Jan. 20.
He also never imagined this deed would lead him to be a nominee in America's Most Wanted All-Star contest. AMW honors first responders - law enforcement officers, firefighters, EMTs and others - who go above and beyond their duty.
Little owns and operates Greencastle Lock and Hardware, and is a member of St. Thomas Volunteer Fire Department, and president of Medic 2. He also serves as an EMS instructor at Marion and St. Thomas. His knowledge, which he has shared with an estimated 85 percent of first responders in Franklin County, saved the life of his wife, Sue. "She told me she always knew that I would save her," Little said.
His wife of 37 years didn't lie.
They were at their Timmons Drive residence in Greencastle when Sue, who had been watching TV in the couple's living room, began to experience an upper respiratory problem. Though she had experienced shortness of breath, she never believed serious cardiac arrest was on the horizon. Little, who had gone to bed shortly before, heard Sue calling for his attention.
"I found Sue in the living room
struggling to breathe," Little said. "I said to myself right there, 'That's it, you just lost your right to make decisions. I'm going to call 911.'"
Moments later Sue was in severe respiratory distress. Little's three decades of training instinctively took hold. He called 911, set up a flare outside their Greencastle home to provide a distinctive signal to paramedics, moved the couple's car to provide a clear path for the medics and attended to his wife.
"Time takes on a different dimension," Little said of the initial moments following Sue's collapse. When you get off the phone with 911 and are like, 'Where are they?' and then realize it has only been 10 seconds. They aren't going to be here in 10 seconds. You become extremely focused."
Medic 203 arrived first with Company 9, and a Mercersburg Montgomery Peters Warren Fire Company ambulance arrived minutes later. "Just as 203 arrived, she went out on us," Little said.
Little, who plans to retire from the EMS later this year, checked Sue's pulse but found none. "John Bender and I did intensive CPR, and after a couple of minutes she developed a rhythm, but it would not sustain life."
So the duo continued. Moments later, Sue developed a rhythm that could be shocked. Still, she could not breathe without help from her husband.
While her condition continued to improve during the trip to Waynesboro Hospital and Sue became responsive just before arriving, trouble remained ahead.
"The whole ordeal was like a roller coaster," Little said. "I'm not a fan of roller coasters in real life and I was certainly not a fan of this one."
For Sue, the ride was far from over.
"Just as we were bringing her into the Emergency Room she had a (sudden cardiac arrest) while she was conscious," Little said. "We had to shock her again."
Patients suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, a normally lethal arythmia, survive less than 20 percent of the time.
"She said she knew she was going to be OK when she didn't see the bright light and her relatives waiting for her."
Sue, one of the few to survive this type of arrest, remained in intensive care for two days before she was taken to Hershey Medical Center for further treatment.
"Sue had exhausted the care the local hospital was capable of providing," Little said. "If she needed open heart surgery, which was a possibility at the time, she would not have been able to receive that at Waynesboro."
With air transport grounded due to thick fog, Sue, clinging to life after suffering another episode, was transferred via Medic 2's Hershey's mobile intensive care unit.
"As long as there is no bad news, it is good news," Little said. So he waited, at times in the waiting room of the Hershey Medical Center, and at other times beside Sue, and prayed.
"Anyone who doesn't believe in miracles can call me," Little said. "There's something out there that is very powerful."
"I don't know how I feel about the AMW All-Star award," Little said. "The prize I got is keeping Sue. That matters more than any amount of money, any trip or anything else someone could provide. As far as I'm concerned, I already won the grand prize."
Little insists those who responded deserve credit for saving his wife.
"This story isn't about me," Little said. "Everyone did the right thing. Everyone did their jobs, just like they do every day. It is about those who responded to help me, about women's health and about health disease."
It is about Little though. Many of the medical staff who responded to Little's 911 call were taught by Little during almost three decades of emergency medical service.
"Every time attention is drawn to an EMS individual, attention is drawn to the EMS system," Little said, diverting attention from his role of the last 25 years.
His wife is quick to give him credit, though.
"One victim of an accident near South Washington Street was all but given up for dead, but Bill saved him. He said no, this person still has a faint chance. That person survived. There have been numerous occasion just like this. I'm not the only one," Sue said.
Prior awards
- Pennsylvania Emergency Health Services Council Emergency Medical Technician of the Year Recognition Award June 9, 1989.
- Emergency Health Services Federation Inc. regional Emergency Health Services Council, County E.M.S. Council President's Recognition Award 1994
- Emergency Health Services Federation, Inc. Regional Emergency Health Services Council, E.H.S.F. President's Recognition Award 1998
To vote for Little
Those interested in voting for William Little can do so by accessing America's Most Wanted's Web site at www.amw.com/allstar/2007/gallery.cfm. Voting ends at midnight April 15.
Eight finalists, one announced each week through mid April( check), will be entered into a grand prize drawing for $10,000 and other prizes.
