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Off-Duty EMT Rescues Man at Wisconsin Airport
11/23/2006
A volunteer EMT's quick thinking has been credited with saving a man's life at the Dane County Airport before Thanksgiving.
Dennis Ruskin, a volunteer EMT from Waunakee, said he expects to work holidays like Thanksgiving, but he said he didn't expect to use his training while he was off-duty on Wednesday.
"I went around the edge of the carousel to wait for my luggage, and I heard someone scream, 'Does anyone know CPR?" Ruskin said.
A 65-year-old man from Watertown had collapsed by the baggage check.
"He had no pulse. He wasn't breathing; he basically was dead," Ruskin said.
Ruskin and an off-duty doctor, who was also nearby, performed CPR. Then Ruskin said he remembered seeing a defibrillator at the airport.
"(I) hollered at a person, 'Go get me that defibrillator on the wall.'" Since I knew where it was already. Little did I know, five minutes later I'd have to use it," Ruskin said.
The defibrillator Ruskin used was one of seven at locations throughout the airport. It's only the second time it has ever been used, WISC-TV reported.
"Sure, my CPR maybe helped a little bit, but it's that defibrillator that saves this man's life. There's no question about that," Ruskin said.
While Ruskin credits the equipment, others, including a responding deputy, said it was Ruskin's quick thinking that made the difference.
"It was kind of a relief to see that people were there taking action as opposed to people just standing around watching someone in a medical emergency," said Patrick Kelly, a deputy with the Dane County Sheriff's Department.
Ruskin said it is a miracle of timing that he was there to help.
"I had just come back from visiting my brothers in Arizona. We were about 40 minutes later, and I shouldn't have been there," he said.
But he said he was glad to be there to help when it happened.
"In this business, you don't get to say very often that you brought him back. Hopefully he'll have lots of Thanksgivings," Ruskin said.
Authorities said that the man who collapsed is doing well. They said he was taken to a local hospital Wednesday night and was awake and talking during the ambulance ride.
Dennis Ruskin, a volunteer EMT from Waunakee, said he expects to work holidays like Thanksgiving, but he said he didn't expect to use his training while he was off-duty on Wednesday.
"I went around the edge of the carousel to wait for my luggage, and I heard someone scream, 'Does anyone know CPR?" Ruskin said.
A 65-year-old man from Watertown had collapsed by the baggage check.
"He had no pulse. He wasn't breathing; he basically was dead," Ruskin said.
Ruskin and an off-duty doctor, who was also nearby, performed CPR. Then Ruskin said he remembered seeing a defibrillator at the airport.
"(I) hollered at a person, 'Go get me that defibrillator on the wall.'" Since I knew where it was already. Little did I know, five minutes later I'd have to use it," Ruskin said.
The defibrillator Ruskin used was one of seven at locations throughout the airport. It's only the second time it has ever been used, WISC-TV reported.
"Sure, my CPR maybe helped a little bit, but it's that defibrillator that saves this man's life. There's no question about that," Ruskin said.
While Ruskin credits the equipment, others, including a responding deputy, said it was Ruskin's quick thinking that made the difference.
"It was kind of a relief to see that people were there taking action as opposed to people just standing around watching someone in a medical emergency," said Patrick Kelly, a deputy with the Dane County Sheriff's Department.
Ruskin said it is a miracle of timing that he was there to help.
"I had just come back from visiting my brothers in Arizona. We were about 40 minutes later, and I shouldn't have been there," he said.
But he said he was glad to be there to help when it happened.
"In this business, you don't get to say very often that you brought him back. Hopefully he'll have lots of Thanksgivings," Ruskin said.
Authorities said that the man who collapsed is doing well. They said he was taken to a local hospital Wednesday night and was awake and talking during the ambulance ride.
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