PULSE Magazine | November/December 2019 Issue

On the morning of November 19, 2018 Austin Travis County Emergency Medical

Services received a 911 call to respond along with Austin Police Depart- ment, and Austin Fire Department to an address in central Austin. A male caller, Matthew, was reporting that his fiancé, Jessica, was not breathing. APD was the first to arrive and started CPR. AFD & ATCEMS arrived moments later taking over CPR of the patient. Pulses were regained and ATCEMS transported Jessica to a local hospital. Jessica had suffered a cardiac arrest at her home on that fateful Monday morning. On Monday evening, and through Tuesday morning, she had three more cardiac arrests and a cardiac syncope. She spent 6 days in the ICU and a total of 12 days in the hospital. Jessica did get to meet Communications Medic Jonathan DeLong last year at a survivor reun- ion with her rescuers but recently Jessica and Matthew visited with Jon- athan again and brought some baked goods to help celebrate surviving the incident just over a year ago. Without the assistance of ATCEMS, APD and AFD Jessica and Matthew would not have been married a few months after her recovery and now have a lifetime of memories to make to- gether.

One year later, cardiac arrest survivor shows appreciation to the communication medic who answered her 9-1-1 call.

26