Frontline heroes: Revisiting six standout stories of EMS workers in Connecticut
Blaine CallahanWhen it comes to our emergency medical services workers, they can't be thanked enough.
Time and time again, they stand up to the most daunting of challenges and emergencies in our communities. Even with the worst the pandemic had to offer, they saved countless lives.
This week is National EMS Week. We wanted to look back at some of the stories from the last couple years that featured those on the front lines. Whether it was an emergency birth during a snowstorm, a sudden heart attack at a concert, or following a day in the life of one of these workers, there's no shortage of events worth revisiting.
Here are six stories to showcase the incredible work of emergency medical services personnel.
Emergency births, heart attacks and stuffed bears: A day with Norwich's "Happy Medic"
Traffic quickly pulled to the right and stopped as an ambulance, with lights and sirens blaring, made its way down Washington Street to an emergency in Norwich recently.
American Ambulance paramedic Peter Haberek and EMT Amber Marchetti were on their way to treat and transport a woman in respiratory distress. They cautiously drove through several red lights en route to the elderly woman. After checking her vitals, they put her in the back of the ambulance where Haberek treated her and Marchetti drove them directly to The William W. Backus Hospital in Norwich.
Wearing a surgical mask, Haberek continued checking her vitals as the ambulance moved.
More:Emergency births, heart attacks and stuffed bears: A day with Norwich's "Happy Medic
Special delivery: Mom makes it to Norwich hospital parking lot before giving birth
Theresa Adams, a doctor at The William W. Backus Hospital was inside the facility’s emergency department Monday morning when she heard what she described as “a commotion.”
“I heard someone say ‘Get the baby...’ so I began running, following the staff headed out to the parking area,” she said. “Then someone shouted, ‘The baby's out. The baby's out.’ I realized that it was someone delivering a baby in the snowstorm.”
More:Special delivery: Mom makes it to Norwich hospital parking lot before giving birth
That someone was Kaitlyn Vacchina, of Lebanon, who, with help from her husband David, delivered Molly Joyce, an 8-pound, 3-ounce baby girl in the front seat of the couple’s vehicle parked outside Norwich hospital as a nor'easter continued to bear down on the region.
A woman's heart stopped before a Blake Shelton show at Mohegan Sun. A nearby nurse acted.
What was supposed to be a pleasant night of music and slots for two families turned dire after a Massachusetts woman suffered a seizure so severe it stopped her heart and lungs.
But Sandra Swenor said without the timely intervention of a Hartford Healthcare nurse, it could have been so much worse.
More:A woman's heart stopped before a Blake Shelton show at Mohegan Sun. A nearby nurse acted.
Swenor, a 60-year-old Springfield, Massachusetts resident, traveled to the Mohegan Sun Casino on Friday night to watch country superstar Blake Shelton take the stage. She drove down with her mother and the two settled into a suite while waiting for extended family members to show up.
“It was a great day,” Swenor said. “We played slots, had a big room and ate dinner. I love Blake Shelton.”
As she waited in the gaming area for the show to begin, Swenor, a diabetic, said she began feeling odd.
At Backus, vaccine arrival met with hope
Donna Handley, east region president for Hartford Healthcare, is glad that the “courage and bravery” of frontline workers is starting to pay off.
“The science is here to protect us, and get us through to that light at the end of the tunnel,” Handley said.
On Monday night, The William W. Backus Hospital announced on its Facebook page that its first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech had arrived. Hartford Healthcare had an event showing personnel from around the state receiving their first dose of the vaccine. On Tuesday, it was Backus’ turn, as 30 of the hospital’s patient-facing employees came to the conference room by the main entrance, and received the first of two doses.
More:At Backus, vaccine arrival met with hope
What's it like to be a Norwich firefighter? Spend a day in the life of Nick Mathieu
Norwich firefighter Nick Mathieu, 35, is following in his father's footsteps.
His dad, John Mathieu, 68, retired as captain in the department after serving the community from 1976 to 2003. The elder Mathieu said of his son, "I encouraged him and he always wanted to be a firefighter so I said go right ahead."
The younger Mathieu said "It's always something I wanted to do. I had an interest back in the '90s to be a firefighter. It's an exciting job. It's the best thing I ever did."
More:What's it like to be a Norwich firefighter? Spend a day in the life of Nick Mathieu
Local first responders honor Backus staff with lights-and-sirens motorcade
Hundreds of first responders from across Eastern Connecticut flooded The William W. Backus Hospital main entrance road on Tuesday to show their support for their medical comrades-in-arms with a drive-by salute that pierced the air with the sounds of sirens, cheers and applause.
More:First responders honor Backus workers
The vehicle parade passed by throngs of masked and gowned employees of the Norwich hospital, most who held up signs of thanks as the flashing motorcade passed under a triangular arch formed by fire truck ladders from which an enormous American flag fluttered.
“This is the most exciting day of my life,” said Jenna Arzoumanian, a certified surgical technologist in the hospital’s surgical services department. “To see something like this is so uplifting.”