New England News

Thursday, February 26, 2009

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Two strangers use MBTA defibrillator to save man's life

BOSTON -- A man who lost consciousness at North Station is alive thanks to a new defibrillator and the quick thinking of strangers.

Patricia Rogers and Alex Santos were waiting for the train Wednesday night when a man collapsed.

"Somebody said he was going into a seizure and we moved him down to the ground and positioned him and he started turning blue, so we tried to open up an airway, check to see if he had a pulse," Santos said

The 53-year-old North Andover man collapsed near track 10 at North Station while he was waiting for the Haverill line train.

Rogers, a nurse at Massachusetts General Hospital, and Santos, an Army medic, were in the right place at the right time.

"He was turning blue so he had no air going into him, so we just started CPR. You know it was cool because we had a team going. I started compressions she got the AED going," Santos said.

The AEDs, automated external defibrillators, were just installed in MBTA commuter trains and stations this month.

Rogers administered several shocks with the defibrillator before paramedics arrived.

"It's extremely user friendly it tells you where to put the patches on and as soon as the patches were on it tells you that a shock is required," Rogers said.

Officials said Wednesday night's event was a demonstration of how important these machines can be in emergency situations.

"One thing that stood out for me was he was wearing a wedding ring so I knew that somebody was out there and he had family and someone that loved him was expecting him to come home," Rogers said

The Good Samaritans were able to keep the man alive until paramedics arrived. He was transported to MGH and is listed in good condition.

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