JFK PATIENTS REUNITE WITH THOSE WHO SAVED THEM

Survivors of cardiac arrest thank those who came to their aid.

Kathy Roller was found in her car on the side of the road, foot on the brake, engine running and unconscious. She was in cardiac arrest, but she doesn’t remember that. She doesn’t remember the good Samaritan who found her, who broke the window to pull her out, called 911 and began CPR.

Roller still doesn’t know who that Samaritan was, but this past week the 59-year-old from Lake Worth met a team of people who were instrumental in making sure she survived — the fire rescue crew from Palm Beach County Station 46 and the staff at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis.

“I believe she got here without a pulse,” her husband, Don Roller, recalled at a ceremony that reunited cardiac arrest patients with the people who save their lives. “She’s made an amazing recovery. She’s healthier now than she ever was.”

Roller was one of more than a dozen survivors to meet their heroes. Each had a story to tell.

Jay Nichols was laying sod in his yard when he collapsed. His Lantana neighbor, Demetrio Green Jr., began CPR, and the crew from Station 35 continued until the 76-year-old regained his pulse. “I want to thank everyone who helped me out, especially the paramedics and my neighbor,” Nichols said. “If it hadn’t been for him, I wouldn’t be here today. The hospital is top-notch.”

His wife, Gail, said her husband is never laying sod again.

Brian Smith, 47, collapsed while jogging on Hypoluxo Road. Anthony Loeffler Jr. called 911. Off-duty Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Wes Springer, who saw Smith on the ground, began CPR with the help of Boynton

Police Sgt. Brian McDeavitt, who was on his way to work. Help from Station 43 arrived and gave his heart a shock before taking him to JFK.

“Running might kill you,” Smith joked, standing with his wife and 7-year-old son. “I wouldn’t be here today if not for your quick response of everyone standing up here.”

Smith said he was out for seven minutes, enough to cause severe brain damage, but quick action and what’s called “cold therapy” to slow the damage spared him. “I guess the cold therapy really works,” he said. “I got back on the wagon and ran my first mile this morning with my wife.”

Paramedic Anthony DeJesus, who was dispatched to help Smith, said, “It’s very rewarding to see him with his family and know that he has many more years to enjoy with them.”

Smith’s wife, Daniela, is thankful. “Wes could have driven by. The officer could have driven by. But they didn’t. There’s never enough thanks that I can give them.”

The odds aren’t always in the victim’s favor. In Florida in 2011, only 5 or 6 percent of people who suffered a cardiac arrest survived, said Dr. Kenneth Scheppke,Fire Rescue’s medical director.

Palm Beach County’s numbers are significantly better. “It’s more like 40 to 45 percent,” he said. “Just giving hands-only chest compressions almost triples the survival rate. I applaud everyone. We have one of the highest survival rates here in the nation.”

GREG LOVETT / THE PALM BEACH POST Amy Hearst, an ICU nurse at JFK Medical Center, hugs Jay Nichols during the cardiac arrest patient reunion Sunday at the Atlantis hospital. Nichols was laying sod in his yard in Lantana when he went into cardiac arrest. Hearst helped care for him.

Brian Smith (right), who collapsed while jogging on Hypoluxo Road, thanks Palm Beach County Fire Rescue Capt. Neil Isler, who worked with the Station 43 crew to save Smith’s life. Smith’s wife, Daniela Adams Smith, and 7-year-old son, Graeson, look on.

PHOTOS BY GREG LOVETT / THE PALM BEACH POST Kathy Roller, of Lake Worth, hugs Palm Beach County Fire Rescue paramedic Joseph DelTergo during the reunion Sunday at JFK Medical Center in Atlantis. Roller was joined by daughter Madison (left) and husband Donald (center).