RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – “They gave me back my life.”
That’s what Michael Snyder, Jr., 27, said about the people at Richmond Ambulance Authority. Snyder went to RAA headquarters this week to thank the people who helped save his life last December.
When Snyder suffered a sudden cardiac arrest at his home, his family began CPR and called 911.
“Upon arrival, the firefighters took over CPR for a short time and then transferred care to RAA paramedic Alex Klimenko and Emergency Medical Technician Jonathan Carroll,” the RAA wrote in a press release. “Klimenko placed a mechanical device called AutoPulse on Michael, which delivers automatic CPR at both the correct and consistent rate, while he began delivering Advanced Life Support. In addition to receiving defibrillating shocks and drugs, Snyder was also placed into a state of ‘Therapeutic Hypothermia’ in which the body temperature is cooled down to preserve brain function. With Michael’s heart restarted, medics and firefighters carried Michael on an evacuation stretcher down three flights of stairs to the awaiting ambulance.”
Snyder was taken to VCU Medical Center where doctors rewarmed his body and continued treatment. Snyder made a full recovery.
“I have a two-year old little girl and every step that everyone involved took gave me more time with her. My family is so strong and they acted quickly and never gave up on me, and the EMS responders and hospital staff were incredible,” Snyder said. “The odds of me waking up alive and as the same person mentally and physically were so extraordinarily low. It’s just amazing. You can’t put a price on that.”
