Cardiac arrest victim reunited with first responders who helped save her

Jan. 28—CARPENDALE, W.Va. — Jason Courtney was sound asleep when we heard his wife's breathing stop.

"I don't know why I heard it; we were sound asleep," said Courtney, recalling the Dec. 5, 2021, medical emergency his wife, Tammy, suffered at their Carpendale home.

"I looked over at her and said, 'Tammy.' I shook her and the way she moved, I knew something was wrong," he said.

Jason Courtney said he jumped out of bed and called 911 — a call that sparked a series of events involving Jason and Tammy, dispatchers from the Mineral County 911 Center and first responders from Ridgeley and Cumberland. Together, they saved Tammy's life after she suffered cardiac arrest.

"The first thing the (911) dispatcher said was to put her on the floor. Then they said do this, which is CPR, and then it started kicking in," Courtney said, adding he had some experience performing the emergency procedure, but never thought he'd have to use it on his wife.

As Courtney performed CPR, the dispatch center alerted the Ridgeley Volunteer Fire Department.

"I could see their lights, but my door was locked so I ran to the door and unlocked it," Jason Courtney said. "They pulled out the machine and put it on her and started doing compressions. I just got out of the way."

"I came in behind (Jason) and he showed where she was and I checked for a pulse," said Kasinda Morlen, EMS lieutenant with the Ridgeley department. "She actually did have a pulse from (Jason's chest) compressions. Her pulse was going again."

Morlen said the Ridgeley crew continued compressions using a mechanical LUCAS device.

"It's way more effective CPR than what a human can ever do because it's efficient every single time with every compression," Morlen said.

The Cumberland Fire Department was called for additional assistance while the Ridgeley crew continued working on Tammy.

"She had a pulse and a rhythm," Morlen said. "So within two minutes (her) heart was back again and we quickly packaged (her) up on our backboard and got (her) in the ambulance and to (UPMC Western Maryland). So we were probably in the house less than 10 minutes."

'Forever grateful'

The Courtneys, along with several of the first responders from that night, gathered at the Ridgeley station recently at the Courtneys' request so Tammy and Jason could thank them in person.

"I don't remember anything at all, even in the hospital," said Tammy Courtney, with tears in her eyes. "I am forever grateful and I know my family is forever grateful for all of you. It is very hard for me understand even after coming home after being in the hospital for six or seven days. I'm just so grateful for all that you did."

Cumberland Fire Department Chief Shannon Adams said starting CPR quickly was key.

"It's critical to start CPR right away to get the heart to start beating again," he said. "In four to six minutes, if something is not accomplished there is not a good survival rate. ... The quicker the better, so (Jason) did his thing and it gave them even more time to prolong the recovery time.

'It all went right'

Tammy Courtney said a recent trip to the doctor revealed her heart was back to normal and her prognosis was good.

"Often first responders don't know how things ultimately worked out for patients," Adams said. "Many times they'd rather not know, because most times the ending is not a happy one. But this time, it all went right."

Hunter McCrobie, a cardiac rescue technician who responded with the city fire department, said there were a few noteworthy things about the call first responders don't always see.

"First of all, Mr. Courtney giving CPR from the beginning, recognizing there is a problem and calling 911 and getting the dispatcher to talk you through it ... that is why this case is different from other cases," he said. "If that didn't happen, I'm a firm believer we wouldn't be standing here.

"Secondly, I know these people, I'm friends with them and work with them, I knew walking in there I didn't have to check their work," McCrobie said, referring to the all-volunteer Ridgeley department. "They give up their time to do this out of the kindness of their heart.

"I knew everything that needed to be done was done. I was able to walk in and do my work and it was like putting the cherry on top."

The Courtneys also wish to thank John Jackson, Joshua Crowe, Steven Shipley and Brandon Lynch of the Ridgeley fire department, Nicholas Miller of the city department and Schelotta Kight, Karen Liller and Chasity Crites of Mineral County 911 Center.

Greg Larry is a reporter at the Cumberland Times-News. To reach him, call 304-639-4951, email glarry@times-news.com and follow him on Twitter @GregLarryCTN.