AEDs Saves Lives on Beach
OCEAN CITY -- Ryan Harvey, a 20-year-old man from northeastern Pennsylvania, was playing football with friends on the beach a few weeks ago when suddenly everything went black.
Harvey had gone into cardiac arrest.
"His friends thought he was kidding until he sat down and didn't get back up," Ocean City Beach Patrol Sgt. Josh Wasilewski said.
Surf Rescue Technician Mark Muller saw what was happening at the back of the beach and ran to help.
"I credit Mark since he saw it," Wasilewski said. He said the SRTs are in charge of the whole beach, but much of their focus is on the water.
Muller and fellow lifeguard James McVey performed CPR on Harvey until Wasilewski arrived with an automatic external defibrillator and shocked Harvey. Lifeguards Lucy Bedard and Blare Gallion also assisted in the rescue, Wasilewski said.
OCBP Capt. Butch Arbin said during cardiac arrest the heart "quivers" and the AED is able to shock it back into a normal rhythm.
Although CPR will continue to circulate blood to vital organs, Arbin said "CPR alone is not enough; an AED increases the effectiveness."
Ocean City EMS arrived on the beach shortly after Wasilewski used the AED. The paramedics transported Harvey to Atlantic General Hospital. He was later taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where he stayed for a week.
"Of all the phone calls I thought I would get from Ocean City," said Ryan's mother, Molly Harvey, "I thought it would be for underage drinking or a noise violation, not that my son's heart stopped on the beach."
Although doctors do not know why Ryan Harvey went into cardiac arrest, they do know why he is still alive today.
"They did save my son's life," Molly Harvey said. "The Ocean City Beach Patrol is going to be our adopted family. The surgeons said if it wasn't for them, he would be dead."
"I feel like we're more prepared"
The piece of equipment that helped save Harvey's life was not always standard for the beach patrol.
On June 13, 1999, Roger L. Harrell Jr. was swimming with a friend when a wave hit them both, Arbin said. Both swimmers were rescued, but Harrell went into cardiac arrest and although lifeguards performed CPR, they were unable to save him.
"In a perfect situation an AED may have made the difference," he said.
Following the tragedy, Harrell's family raised $6,000 to purchase four AED machines for the beach patrol, Arbin said. The donated machines have a plaque on them in memory of Harrell.
One of those machines saved the life of a woman who collapsed on the Boardwalk on Aug. 7, 2005.
Sgt. Timothy Uebel was a few blocks away when the 911 call came in. He was able to arrive on the scene and use the AED machine within two minutes of the call.
Today the OCBP has about 14 AEDs, which are on all of their vehicles including their four-wheel all-terrain vehicles. Whenever there is an emergency on the beach the quads respond to the scene to provide assistance.
Since the beach patrol received the AEDs, they've been used in about seven rescues. Most recently, lifeguards used the machine when they saved a man from the surf Aug. 12. The man went into cardiac arrest after he injured the vertebrae in his neck in the ocean, OCBP spokeswoman Kristin Joson wrote in an e-mail.
"Being on the beach means we are a lot quicker," he said. "We are speeding up our care."
Wasilewski, who is in his 11th season with the beach patrol, said he is glad the AEDs are now standard equipment.
"Now, I feel like we're more prepared," he said.
All lifeguards are trained in CPR as well as with the AEDs, Arbin said.
Wasilewski said the machines were made for the general public and provide step-by-step instructions. The machines even alert users to whether a shock is necessary.
"The more places that have them the better," Wasilewski said. "Especially in high school at the athletic events. There are kids that have heart defects that never know until they are in activities."
Recovery
For Harvey, his life has completely changed.
While at the hospital in Baltimore, a defibrillator was implanted in his chest. The once-active young man is no longer allowed to play sports and has to take precautions in other areas of his life.
"They don't know what's wrong because most people don't survive cardiac arrest," Molly Harvey said.
She said she contacted Harrell's family to thank them for their donation and spoke with Harrell's mother, Anne.
"I felt so bad for her, her son is dead and my son is alive because of it," she said.
The mothers discussed the similarities between their sons including their love of Ocean City and their shared initials. Both incidents occurred within a few blocks of each other.
Since the incident, Ryan Harvey is part of a case study that could possibly lead to screening of infants for at-risk conditions, Molly Harvey said.
"Maybe one day Ryan will be helping to save someone else's life like Roger did for him," Molly Harvey said.
Copyright (c) The Daily Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Record Number: sns7325069
- Author: Beth Ward
- Section: NEWS
- By Beth Ward , Staff Writer
OCEAN CITY -- Ryan Harvey, a 20-year-old man from northeastern Pennsylvania, was playing football with friends on the beach a few weeks ago when suddenly everything went black.Harvey had gone into cardiac arrest.
"His friends thought he was kidding until he sat down and didn't get back up," Ocean City Beach Patrol Sgt. Josh Wasilewski said.
Surf Rescue Technician Mark Muller saw what was happening at the back of the beach and ran to help.
"I credit Mark since he saw it," Wasilewski said. He said the SRTs are in charge of the whole beach, but much of their focus is on the water.
Muller and fellow lifeguard James McVey performed CPR on Harvey until Wasilewski arrived with an automatic external defibrillator and shocked Harvey. Lifeguards Lucy Bedard and Blare Gallion also assisted in the rescue, Wasilewski said.
OCBP Capt. Butch Arbin said during cardiac arrest the heart "quivers" and the AED is able to shock it back into a normal rhythm.
Although CPR will continue to circulate blood to vital organs, Arbin said "CPR alone is not enough; an AED increases the effectiveness."
Ocean City EMS arrived on the beach shortly after Wasilewski used the AED. The paramedics transported Harvey to Atlantic General Hospital. He was later taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore, where he stayed for a week.
"Of all the phone calls I thought I would get from Ocean City," said Ryan's mother, Molly Harvey, "I thought it would be for underage drinking or a noise violation, not that my son's heart stopped on the beach."
Although doctors do not know why Ryan Harvey went into cardiac arrest, they do know why he is still alive today.
"They did save my son's life," Molly Harvey said. "The Ocean City Beach Patrol is going to be our adopted family. The surgeons said if it wasn't for them, he would be dead."
"I feel like we're more prepared"
The piece of equipment that helped save Harvey's life was not always standard for the beach patrol.
On June 13, 1999, Roger L. Harrell Jr. was swimming with a friend when a wave hit them both, Arbin said. Both swimmers were rescued, but Harrell went into cardiac arrest and although lifeguards performed CPR, they were unable to save him.
"In a perfect situation an AED may have made the difference," he said.
Following the tragedy, Harrell's family raised $6,000 to purchase four AED machines for the beach patrol, Arbin said. The donated machines have a plaque on them in memory of Harrell.
One of those machines saved the life of a woman who collapsed on the Boardwalk on Aug. 7, 2005.
Sgt. Timothy Uebel was a few blocks away when the 911 call came in. He was able to arrive on the scene and use the AED machine within two minutes of the call.
Today the OCBP has about 14 AEDs, which are on all of their vehicles including their four-wheel all-terrain vehicles. Whenever there is an emergency on the beach the quads respond to the scene to provide assistance.
Since the beach patrol received the AEDs, they've been used in about seven rescues. Most recently, lifeguards used the machine when they saved a man from the surf Aug. 12. The man went into cardiac arrest after he injured the vertebrae in his neck in the ocean, OCBP spokeswoman Kristin Joson wrote in an e-mail.
"Being on the beach means we are a lot quicker," he said. "We are speeding up our care."
Wasilewski, who is in his 11th season with the beach patrol, said he is glad the AEDs are now standard equipment.
"Now, I feel like we're more prepared," he said.
All lifeguards are trained in CPR as well as with the AEDs, Arbin said.
Wasilewski said the machines were made for the general public and provide step-by-step instructions. The machines even alert users to whether a shock is necessary.
"The more places that have them the better," Wasilewski said. "Especially in high school at the athletic events. There are kids that have heart defects that never know until they are in activities."
Recovery
For Harvey, his life has completely changed.
While at the hospital in Baltimore, a defibrillator was implanted in his chest. The once-active young man is no longer allowed to play sports and has to take precautions in other areas of his life.
"They don't know what's wrong because most people don't survive cardiac arrest," Molly Harvey said.
She said she contacted Harrell's family to thank them for their donation and spoke with Harrell's mother, Anne.
"I felt so bad for her, her son is dead and my son is alive because of it," she said.
The mothers discussed the similarities between their sons including their love of Ocean City and their shared initials. Both incidents occurred within a few blocks of each other.
Since the incident, Ryan Harvey is part of a case study that could possibly lead to screening of infants for at-risk conditions, Molly Harvey said.
"Maybe one day Ryan will be helping to save someone else's life like Roger did for him," Molly Harvey said.
Copyright (c) The Daily Times. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.
Record Number: sns7325069
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