IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY DIALRyan Strange, Paramedic Field Supervisor
On August 25, Hall Ambulance Unit 432 staffed by Paramedic Ryan Strange responded to a local junior high school for a patient with anxiety type symptoms. Upon making contact, Teacher Caryn Herren told Paramedic Strange that she has a history of panic attacks, but that this was worse than she had ever experienced. She initially refused transport; asking the paramedic to ‘make her feel better’ and she would just stay at work.
Relying on his training and experience, Paramedic Strange encouraged her to be seen at the ER. The patient agreed and was loaded into the ambulance, where Ryan provided basic life support care.
While en route to the hospital, the patient advised Strange that she was feeling faint. She suddenly became unconscious and unresponsive, followed by a seizure. Her condition continued to deteriorate—her breathing slowing to agonal respirations and no pulse.
Immediately, Ryan elevated his treatment to advanced life support care, initiating CPR and rescue breaths with high flow oxygen. The monitor revealed that her heart was in V-fib, a deadly, unstable heart rhythm. Ryan placed defib pads onto the patient’s chest and shocked her heart once, continuing CPR and rescue breaths. As they were arriving at the ER, the patient regained an organized rhythm with a good pulse. The paramedic continued to assist her breathing with ventilations as she was moved into the ER, at which point, she began breathing on her own. The airway was removed and the patient started regaining consciousness.
On October 5, 2016, Ryan was reunited with Caryn. With tears of joy, she expressed her gratitude to the paramedic for saving her life, and presenting Ryan with a placard that reads, “You have never really lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.”
Ryan Strange joined Hall Ambulance in February 2014.
