Emergency Services
October 25, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
Editor, Times-Union:
Eight months ago, on the evening of Feb. 19, 2016, an elderly woman went into cardiac arrest at the North Pointe movie theater lobby in Warsaw. That woman laying lifeless in the lobby was my mother, Kay Michael. She was a wonderful mother and very loving grandmother to her only grandchild. We miss her tremendously. Her passing has left a huge hole in our hearts and in our everyday lives. It’s true what they say, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”
I am writing this letter because I want everyone to know the caliber of first responders the Warsaw community has. I live in Alaska and work as a firefighter paramedic myself, so I feel more than qualified to pass judgment on their care of my mother. Before my family and I could step on the plane out of Fairbanks, the fire department was already taking care of us. Of course, my mind was full of many unanswered questions.
The fire chief gave me his cell number and personal email and offered to get in touch with the lead paramedic with my questions. By the time I had landed at O’Hare, I had follow up emails and text messages from the fire chief and lead paramedic. They filled in some of the information of what had occurred at the theater and during transport, as well they both offered to do anything else they could for our family. From the information they gave me at that, I had no doubt in my mind that not only had they done everything they were supposed to do per protocol, but they also went above and beyond, working on a cardiac arrest patient much longer than most medics would have done. They simply tried everything. They fought very hard to keep my mother on this earth for us. They gave me peace of mind knowing that they did exactly what I would have done if I had been there.
The morning after we held my mother’s memorial service, the lead paramedic and several members of the fire department that had responded agreed to meet with me and my extended family for breakfast and to answer further questions we had. We still questions about her final moments. Each member recounted the events from his or her perspective, giving us details that cannot be captured in written reports. They patiently answered all of our questions and explained things in terms that the children attending could understand. They provided us with an accurate accounting of my mother’s final moments, assured us that she did not suffer and most importantly, assured us that she didn’t pass away alone or scared. For that, my family and I are eternally thankful.
We were also able to reassure them that we were in no way upset with the care my mother had received; in fact, it was quite the contrary; we were astounded at the lengths they went to in order to revive her. The crew and volunteers at the theater treated my mother with dignity and respect in her final moments and I just wanted the Warsaw community to know that caliber of people they have working on their emergency services crew. The manner in which they treated our family with compassion and care afterward was also top notch. By the way, we had invited the crew and planned on buying them breakfast but after our family finished our meal, we were told that the EMS supervisor had paid for everything already; yet another classy move on their part.
It’s our understanding that many off-duty and/or volunteer EMTs and firefighters were at the theater that night and they did not hesitate to leave their families and offer assistance with doing CPR or with crowd control. Our many thanks go out to all that were involved in my mother’s care on that cold and windy night in February. Your professional service to your community did not go unnoticed nor will it soon be forgotten in our hearts and memories.
Barbara Michael
Fairbanks, Alaska, via email
Editor, Times-Union:
Eight months ago, on the evening of Feb. 19, 2016, an elderly woman went into cardiac arrest at the North Pointe movie theater lobby in Warsaw. That woman laying lifeless in the lobby was my mother, Kay Michael. She was a wonderful mother and very loving grandmother to her only grandchild. We miss her tremendously. Her passing has left a huge hole in our hearts and in our everyday lives. It’s true what they say, “You don’t know what you have until it’s gone.”
I am writing this letter because I want everyone to know the caliber of first responders the Warsaw community has. I live in Alaska and work as a firefighter paramedic myself, so I feel more than qualified to pass judgment on their care of my mother. Before my family and I could step on the plane out of Fairbanks, the fire department was already taking care of us. Of course, my mind was full of many unanswered questions.
The fire chief gave me his cell number and personal email and offered to get in touch with the lead paramedic with my questions. By the time I had landed at O’Hare, I had follow up emails and text messages from the fire chief and lead paramedic. They filled in some of the information of what had occurred at the theater and during transport, as well they both offered to do anything else they could for our family. From the information they gave me at that, I had no doubt in my mind that not only had they done everything they were supposed to do per protocol, but they also went above and beyond, working on a cardiac arrest patient much longer than most medics would have done. They simply tried everything. They fought very hard to keep my mother on this earth for us. They gave me peace of mind knowing that they did exactly what I would have done if I had been there.
The morning after we held my mother’s memorial service, the lead paramedic and several members of the fire department that had responded agreed to meet with me and my extended family for breakfast and to answer further questions we had. We still questions about her final moments. Each member recounted the events from his or her perspective, giving us details that cannot be captured in written reports. They patiently answered all of our questions and explained things in terms that the children attending could understand. They provided us with an accurate accounting of my mother’s final moments, assured us that she did not suffer and most importantly, assured us that she didn’t pass away alone or scared. For that, my family and I are eternally thankful.
We were also able to reassure them that we were in no way upset with the care my mother had received; in fact, it was quite the contrary; we were astounded at the lengths they went to in order to revive her. The crew and volunteers at the theater treated my mother with dignity and respect in her final moments and I just wanted the Warsaw community to know that caliber of people they have working on their emergency services crew. The manner in which they treated our family with compassion and care afterward was also top notch. By the way, we had invited the crew and planned on buying them breakfast but after our family finished our meal, we were told that the EMS supervisor had paid for everything already; yet another classy move on their part.
It’s our understanding that many off-duty and/or volunteer EMTs and firefighters were at the theater that night and they did not hesitate to leave their families and offer assistance with doing CPR or with crowd control. Our many thanks go out to all that were involved in my mother’s care on that cold and windy night in February. Your professional service to your community did not go unnoticed nor will it soon be forgotten in our hearts and memories.
Barbara Michael
Fairbanks, Alaska, via email
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