Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Paramedics brave hurricane to save boy
Crew of 4 made decision to put their lives on the line
DELRAY BEACH — Without power and stuck in the middle of a hurricane, Stacy Alcenard-Macer’s 1-year-old son had no way to take the medicine he needed to breathe clearly — until the Delray Beach Fire Department came to his rescue.
Alcenard-Macer lost power the morning of Sept. 10 as the outer bands of Hurricane Irma swirled over Palm Beach County.
Her son Jayson is asthmatic. He’d been in and out of the hospital for the past two months and came down with a cold Thursday before the storm.
Jayson needed medication every four hours to help clear his lungs so he could breathe, Alcenard-Macer said.
But without electricity to power the breathing machine that delivers his medicine, he could have asphyxiated, she said.
By noon, Jayson’s temperature was rising. He began to sweat, but remained unnaturally calm.
“It was to the point where he was really trying to concentrate his breathing,” Alcenard-Macer said. “Once he exhaled, you cold hear that crackling noise, like the mucous build-up.”
Alcenard-Macer weighed her options. Should she drive her son to a hospital in the middle of a hurricane?
Instead, she reached out to Delray Beach police through Facebook, where spokeswoman Dani Moschella put her in contact with Fire Rescue. Moschella noted that ordinarily social media is not monitored around the clock and it’s better for
people to call in case of an emergency.
Within 20 minutes, Alcenard-Macer received a call from the fire department saying they’d do their best.
But in the middle of the hurricane, with sustained winds over 45 mph and gusts 80 to 90 mph, emergency crews were putting their lives at risk to help others.
For that reason, public safety leaders left the final decision to the crews willing to put their lives on the line, said interim city manager Neal de Jesus.
Four fire-rescue personnel decided to help Jayson: Captain Ilene Rose, Andy Zimmer, Chelsea Allison and Matthew Chotiner.
“We knew that the patient needed care, and the only way that it was going to happen is if we went,” said Acting Fire Chief L. Keith Tomey. “We are proud of our firefighters for their willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty in these types of extreme circumstances.”
Within an hour of Alcenard-Macer’s message, paramedics were at her doorstep with a tank of oxygen that could hook up to her son’s breathing machine and serve him his medication.
“To see they would put their lives on line for him, it’s a great blessing,” Alcenard-Macer said.
Fifteen minutes later the paramedics were back outside, the winds pushing against them as they struggled back to their fire truck.
For the next week, Alcenard-Macer used the oxygen tank to deliver her son’s medicine until Saturday, when she returned it to the department.
On Sunday, her power came back. As of Thursday, her son was doing “very well.”
“It’s just amazing how all this transpired,” AlcenardMacer said. “It is just such a joy that the community is built together like that.”