Airman saves heart-attack victim

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jason Ostrich
  • 193rd Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HARRISBURG, Penn. (AFPN) --  To just go in, vote and get back to work seemed like a reasonable expectation for Senior Master Sgt. Glenn Parsons, ground safety supervisor for the Air National Guard’s 193rd Special Operations Wing here.

But on his way from his job at the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections to a lunchtime union-ratification meeting, he had no idea what chaos and uncertainty awaited him.

About 50 state employees gathered in the meeting hall to hear the options and cast their votes. Ten minutes into the presentation, Parsons heard a thump, followed by an isolated commotion and someone in the crowd mumbling, “He quit breathing.”

Parsons immediately let his instincts and training take over.

After urging bystanders to call for help, Parsons found an unconscious man with no heartbeat. Jackie L. Becker had fallen to the floor, suffering from an apparent heart attack.

Though panicked bystanders strongly urged Parsons to await paramedics, he knew there was little time to waste. He began CPR with the help of Joan Barkley, a nurse and Pennsylvania state employee attending the meeting.

“Everything just shut off around me, and I knew there was only one thing to do and that was to get his heart started,” said Parsons, who learned CPR through the Air Force and the department of corrections.

“I would want someone to do it for me -- now! I just pictured myself laying there and thought, ‘If that was me laying there, what would I want someone to do?’ ” he said.

Parsons performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, while Barkley did chest compressions. The duo was able to restart Becker’s heart and breathing three times in about 10 minutes. Paramedics arrived and took him to Harrisburg Hospital.

“Brain cells start to die in four to six minutes without resuscitation, so the sooner you start care the better chance you have of surviving,” said Senior Airman Hali Jo Confer of the 193rd SOW medical readiness and mobility section. “The likelihood of life after 10 minutes is slight at best.”

Ultimately, Becker underwent critical surgery to insert a pacemaker. He is recovering at home.

“I am very happy to be here,” said Becker, who remembers little of the day’s events. “I’m just thankful (Parsons) was there to help me.”

“People need to be involved, care about others, volunteer and step up and be counted (on) when people need you,” said Parsons, who credits Air Force leadership school and principles for helping him rise to the occasion.

“Everyone should learn CPR,” he said. “It’s not just a course; it’s a matter of life and death.” (Courtesy of Air Force Special Operations Command News Service)