Etna Green Resident Lives To Tell About His Brush With Death
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
He wasn't a cooperative patient and he doesn't remember the helicopter ride, but Etna Green's Bob Haines is glad he's able to hear the stories about his exploits.
Haines, 36, went into cardiac arrest Aug. 30 while driving near the intersection of Old Road 30 and CR 800W, between Atwood and Etna Green. He lost consciousness and his car left the road, going into tall grass and weeds and hitting an embankment.
If a nearby resident hadn't heard the crash, Haines might still be in his car in the brush and likely wouldn't have lived to hear the stories about what happened after he left the road that day. Haines said he is very grateful to Albert Himes for his quick action in notifying emergency crews.
Haines is no stranger to emergency medicine - he's an Etna Green First Responder and he's suffered two other heart attacks since he was 27 years old.
On the day of the heart attack/accident in August, Haines was pulled from his car by fellow First Responders and also tended to by associates from Multi-Township Emergency Medical Service.
Nobody wanted to take the credit, though, for saving Haines - someone said it was a "team effort."
On Thursday, those credited with helping save Haines' life gathered at the Etna Green Fire Station, where Haines was presented with two T-shirts - one from MTEMS that said "Cardiac Arrest Save" and one from Samaritan, the air ambulance that transported him to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.
Chris Fancil, a paramedic with MTEMS, told Haines he was just glad he didn't bite him while he was fighting to establish a clear airway for him.
Although complete attention is paid to any patient encountered on an ambulance call, Tony Doyle, assistant director of MTEMS, said that "it adds to the emotional stress of a run when you actually known the person."
In addition to the personnel attending to Haines, he was shocked back to life with the semi-automatic defibrillator kept onboard the Etna Green Fire Department's rescue truck. Personnel said the equipment has been in town for about 8-1/2 years and was the first certified defibrillator unit in the state.
Doyle said the unit was pushed for by MTEMS because paramedics who are contracted to serve the Etna Township area wanted the local EMTs and First Responders to have it available.
Haines was hospitalized in critical condition in the coronary care unit of Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, where he remained until Sept. 9. During his hospital stay, an internal defibrillator was implanted in Haines' chest. The device was scheduled to be "charged up" Friday in Fort Wayne and he said it also works as a pacemaker, attempting to speed up or slow down his heart rate as needed before shocking it if it doesn't respond.
Haines is now recuperating at home. He can't go back to work as a materials handler at Chore Time Brock for a month and he can't drive for six months, but doctors sent him home with instructions to otherwise do what he feels comfortable doing. On Sept. 11 - just two days after being released from Lutheran - he felt comfortable riding his bicycle into town from his rural Etna Green home.
Haines said he feels pretty good considering what he's been through.
Rich McNeil, an EMT-P flight paramedic with Samaritan, may have summed it up best as he shook hands with Haines on Thursday: "It's good to see you back." [[In-content Ad]]
He wasn't a cooperative patient and he doesn't remember the helicopter ride, but Etna Green's Bob Haines is glad he's able to hear the stories about his exploits.
Haines, 36, went into cardiac arrest Aug. 30 while driving near the intersection of Old Road 30 and CR 800W, between Atwood and Etna Green. He lost consciousness and his car left the road, going into tall grass and weeds and hitting an embankment.
If a nearby resident hadn't heard the crash, Haines might still be in his car in the brush and likely wouldn't have lived to hear the stories about what happened after he left the road that day. Haines said he is very grateful to Albert Himes for his quick action in notifying emergency crews.
Haines is no stranger to emergency medicine - he's an Etna Green First Responder and he's suffered two other heart attacks since he was 27 years old.
On the day of the heart attack/accident in August, Haines was pulled from his car by fellow First Responders and also tended to by associates from Multi-Township Emergency Medical Service.
Nobody wanted to take the credit, though, for saving Haines - someone said it was a "team effort."
On Thursday, those credited with helping save Haines' life gathered at the Etna Green Fire Station, where Haines was presented with two T-shirts - one from MTEMS that said "Cardiac Arrest Save" and one from Samaritan, the air ambulance that transported him to Lutheran Hospital in Fort Wayne.
Chris Fancil, a paramedic with MTEMS, told Haines he was just glad he didn't bite him while he was fighting to establish a clear airway for him.
Although complete attention is paid to any patient encountered on an ambulance call, Tony Doyle, assistant director of MTEMS, said that "it adds to the emotional stress of a run when you actually known the person."
In addition to the personnel attending to Haines, he was shocked back to life with the semi-automatic defibrillator kept onboard the Etna Green Fire Department's rescue truck. Personnel said the equipment has been in town for about 8-1/2 years and was the first certified defibrillator unit in the state.
Doyle said the unit was pushed for by MTEMS because paramedics who are contracted to serve the Etna Township area wanted the local EMTs and First Responders to have it available.
Haines was hospitalized in critical condition in the coronary care unit of Lutheran Hospital, Fort Wayne, where he remained until Sept. 9. During his hospital stay, an internal defibrillator was implanted in Haines' chest. The device was scheduled to be "charged up" Friday in Fort Wayne and he said it also works as a pacemaker, attempting to speed up or slow down his heart rate as needed before shocking it if it doesn't respond.
Haines is now recuperating at home. He can't go back to work as a materials handler at Chore Time Brock for a month and he can't drive for six months, but doctors sent him home with instructions to otherwise do what he feels comfortable doing. On Sept. 11 - just two days after being released from Lutheran - he felt comfortable riding his bicycle into town from his rural Etna Green home.
Haines said he feels pretty good considering what he's been through.
Rich McNeil, an EMT-P flight paramedic with Samaritan, may have summed it up best as he shook hands with Haines on Thursday: "It's good to see you back." [[In-content Ad]]