What are the odds that an emergency medical technician would suffer a medical emergency himself while on the job? Strangely enough, it can happen and it did.
Chris Cabral and his work partner Ray Berwick are EMTs with Aetna Ambulance. While out on the road, Chris went to make a left-hand turn, but couldn’t.
Ray zoned in on Chris instantly and noticed that his arm wasn’t working properly. Half of his face was drooping.
Chris hadn’t yet realized that something was wrong. But Ray did.
“I was inches away from dying and my partner saved my life.”
Chris told WTIC-TV that he remembered Ray asking him what was wrong. But Chris couldn’t answer.
Ray jumped into the driver’s seat and rushed his buddy to Hartford Hospital’s comprehensive stroke center. It took 30 minutes from the onset of Chris’ stroke symptoms until medical professionals tended to him.
Within an hour, he was undergoing life-saving surgery. Doctors had discovered that there was a blood clot near Chris’ carotid artery that was the source of the problem.
Without immediate medical attention, Chris could have tragically passed away. Because many people do not realize they are actually suffering a stroke, crucial minutes pass by before they can or are able to obtain help, Ray explained.
“What better place to have a stroke than an ambulance.”
Chris knew how fortunate he was to be on the job and in an ambulance at the time of his medical emergency. And to have Ray right beside him.
“If I was home alone I wouldn’t have known anything was wrong. That’s the crazy part.”
One month later, Chris is able to walk and talk thanks to physical therapy. Watch this incredible story unfold and what symptoms you need to look for in the video below.
