EMS Director saves man during breakfast in Wimberley

The men’s Bible study group meets every Thursday. Each week, twenty or so men gather in the community room at the Wimberley EMS station and discuss a book of the Bible. After the 6 a.m. meeting a handful of the members head out for breakfast.

The routine doesn’t vary much. Until Thursday, February 8. That day there was a little added excitement. The group — which originated at Cypress Creek Church but now has members from many local churches — meets early so some of the men can get to work on time. The others gather for breakfast and talk about the usual stuff: religion, politics, smalltown gossip, sports.

For years, the group has been eating at the Wimberley Café. They decided to spread their business around a little and, on February 8, ended up at Durango’s Mexican Restaurant. It was a decision that would prove fortunate. The discussion turned to sports and the outlook for the Houston Texans football team. That’s when Tom Scurlock died.

At mid-breakfast, Tom felt queasy and a little nauseous so he excused himself and headed for the restroom. He returned to the table a few minutes later.

Talking football

Tom, a Wimberley resident and the regional sales manager for a large company that sells coatings for marine and industrial uses, is a true-blue Texans fan. When the talk turned to the old Houston Oilers, a team that moved and left Houston without an NFL team for years, he became somewhat animated. “They were disrespecting my Houston Texans. Then they started in on the Oilers,” recalls Tom. He doesn’t recall much after that. Suddenly, Tom froze. His eyes rolled back in his head. His arms went stiff, clutched to his chest. He made grunting noises. He stopped breathing.

In a stroke of luck — or maybe it was divine intervention — one of Tom’s breakfast mates was Ken Strange, the director of Emergency Medical Services here in Wimberley. A trained paramedic, Ken has dealt with hundreds of medical emergencies over the decades.

The men at the table lifted Tom off his chair and onto the floor. They held him down. Ken immediately called 911. “I just went into automatic mode,” Ken says. “I ripped his shirt open and started CPR. Tom was technically dead. He was dead.”

Ken was planning on a pleasant breakfast and didn’t have any of his medical gear with him so for two minutes he pounded on Tom’s chest like his life depended on it. Then Tom slowly came back to life. He started breathing again. “I don’t remember a thing. A lot of this is new to me,” says Tom as he listens to Ken’s account of the event.

“I have never seen CPR live like that,” says Rick Bertino, who was at the table. “I remember a flat-line (when the paramedics attached a heart monitor) and then they got a pulse. We were excited and nervous at the same time.”

Rick, who has never had CPR training, plans to remedy that situation. “I feel like I got a real live lesson [in CPR] from the best,” he says, “but I want to know what to do when something like that happens.”

Quick response

Wimberley’s EMS covers a 142-squaremile service area so, naturally, response times vary. On average, says Ken, paramedics will get to an emergency within about eight minutes.

Durango’s restaurant is right around the corner from both the fire house and the EMS station. The decision to swap omelets for breakfast tacos may have saved Tom’s life. The firefighters arrived about two minutes after Ken’s call. The paramedics, a few seconds later.

They applied the defibrillator and got Tom’s heart pumping again. He was taken by ambulance to the hospital in San Marcos. Then helicoptered to Round Rock so the neurologists could take over treatment. These days, Tom is pretty much grounded. He has to have someone near him at all times and can’t do anything strenuous that might trigger another seizure.

Blue Bell ice cream is out. He’s on a heart healthy diet as well as numerous meds. No driving for a while. On the plus side, he’s down about 10 pounds. The doctors don’t have all the answers, but it seems Tom had a seizure, which caused his heart to stop and led to some bleeding on his brain.

Even with his years of experience, Ken admits the circumstances around Tom’s seizure were a bit jarring. “It was a shock to me,” he says. “It was totally different from what I normally do.” Usually, Ken and his EMS crews arrive at a scene where someone has had a heart attack and they start CPR and other life-saving measures. They are prepared and well equipped. To be eating breakfast, talking football and then have someone seize up right at the table is a little disconcerting.

“There were some other customers [in the restaurant], young guys, and they told me later, ‘Man, that was wild. But you were under control. But, that was really wild.’ ” Tom’s wife Melinda knows things could have turned out much differently: “Every step was God’s provision. He wasn’t alone. Ken was there. He could have been driving or he could’ve been home alone and no one would have known. He would be dead now. God was with us that day.”

Wimberley EMS offers cardiopulmon ary-resuscitation training to local clubs and groups. “Everyone should have that training,” says Ken. “And, you should have refresher courses.”

Stayin’ alive

Even with training, how an individual reacts in an emergency situation is iffy. The important thing is to try to remain calm, recall what you have learned and do your best, says Ken.

“I didn’t break any of Tom’s ribs (during CPR) but I moved some cartilage around. You have to compress the heart against the backbone,” he says. “Actually, if you break some ribs CPR becomes a little easier. You are going to hear some cracking and you’ll be moving all kinds of stuff around.”

One trick the EMS folks teach is to hum the Bee Gees’ 1977 hit “Stayin’ Alive” while CPR is administered. The song has about 100 beats per minute and that puts you in the ballpark for the number of chest compressions needed.

The Wimberley EMS employs 19 people, including 17 paramedics. Someone is on call 24/7. The EMS was established in 1976 and serves an area with 25,000 people. The paramedics respond to about 2,500 calls a year and, typically, transport around 1,000 or so patients a year to area hospitals.

The service is funded through tax dollars, fees and donations. At any moment, there are two ambulances staffed and ready to roll. The ambulances are state-ofthe- art and cost about $270,000 each.

You’ll see the EMS trucks on stand-by around town during big events such as Market Days and the rodeo. Ken is currently looking for a house in Woodcreek that can be staffed with paramedics and an ambulance. The goal is to cut down on response time to the Woodcreek area. Eventually, a fire station will be built there but that may be years away.

If your group is interested in getting firstaid and CPR training or making a donation, email ems@wimberleyems. com or go to the webpage www.wimberleyems. com to find out about the program and schedule a session.