Rockland Paramedics Earn Life-Saving Awards

A firefighter and EMT for more than 27 years, New City resident Tommy O'Connor found himself needing the help of other first responders a few months back.

In letter to Rockland Paramedic Services Executive Director Raymond Florida, which was shared with Patch, O'Connor recalls his sudden need for immediate medical attention.

"I was doing some work outside my home with a landscape company that I hired and was not doing anything most would consider stressful. I suddenly had an incredible pain in my left chest. My first thought was that I had pulled a muscle or something minor like that," he wrote. "That thought quickly left my mind as my training as an EMT kicked in. I realized I was most probably having a heart attack. Without any further hesitation I went in to my home and took two full strength Bayer aspirin and had my neighbor call 911 to start ALS intervention."

As a seasoned EMT, O'Connor said he immediately shared his medical history and what he had done as soon as he realized he was having a heart attack with the paramedics who arrived at his home. 

"Immediately the paramedics took over care and I started to feel as though I now had a fighting chance," he recalled. "Their quick action, focused care and combined efforts were exactly what was necessary to turn the odds in the race against the clock."

Luckily, O'Connor said he knew one of the EMTs, Lt. Bernadette Frae. In fact, he had been the best man at her wedding. Her partner Sarah Gallagher also assisted at the scene.

Because of Frae's and Gallagher's quick actions, O'Connor said he was promptly taken to Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center for treatment. There, here a doctor told him, "'You are a very lucky guy. This was the worst of the worst, you just beat the ‘Widow Maker’. This was major.'"

This past week, the Rockland County Legislature paused to honor Frae and Gallagher with life-saving certificates and recognition.

"The professional, deliberate and focused care I received by Bernadette and Sarah were of the highest degree, their ability to render critical care in the moment while still clearly seeing the next several necessary steps to prevent me from arresting was exemplary," O'Connor said. "Without their calmness, knowledge and execution under pressure, I would surely not have made it."