Way to repay
JONATHAN Cano-Gomez owes his life to an FDNY paramedic crew, and now he’s going to spend that life paying it forward as one of the department’s newest emergency medical technicians.
When he graduated the FDNY EMS Training Academy on Tuesday, Cano-Gomez was once again face to face with the heroes who inspired him — as they welcomed him into the fold.
As he stood at the front of the Christian Cultural Center in East New York, FDNY Chief of Department James Leonard had a little surprise for him — he had brought Lt. Suchingh Singh and Paramedics Roland Guirand and Dean Russell to meet him.
“I got very emotional,” CanoGomez said after the ceremony. “Tears came out.”
“They gave me a second chance at life,” he said of the three first responders.
The trio played an instrumental role in saving Cano-Gomez when he was pinned under a car in a near-fatal motorcycle accident in Bushwick in 2014, Leonard said.
“You never know the impact you’re gonna have on some people’s lives,” Leonard said. “You never know who you’re gonna be treating.”
Cano-Gomez doesn’t remember much about the accident. All he remembers is waking up in a hospital bed.
“I was just asking questions to myself,” he recalled. “I had a hip injury. I couldn’t walk, I couldn’t run. I broke my tooth. I had a lot of lacerations on my arms. It was really bad.”
But the experience changed his life, he said.
“It was after that accident I decided to pursue the career and help other people,” he explained. “This is where I want to be and I made it. I’m very happy.”
“It makes me feel like I’m important in this life,” he said of becoming an EMT. “I want to make a difference in New York City for the community and for the fire department.” Cano-Gomez is assigned to EMS Station 39 in Brownsville where Singh, Guirand and Russell work. Singh, 30, said she was surprised when she was asked to meet Cano-Gomez at the graduation. “I had no idea that we actually made an impact in his life,” she said. “It’s nice to know (that) we actually made a difference.” “That’s what we came to do,” she said. “It’s actually kind of amazing listening to him talk about how this affected his life,” added Russell, 41. “It’s kind of nice knowing that he’s going to be working with me in Brooklyn.” Cano-Gomez was one of 180 cadets who graduated from the FDNY’s EMS Academy on Tuesday, officials said.