Feb 26, 2009 7:22 pm US/Eastern
MBTA Defibrillator Saves Man's Life
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Part of the MBTA and Mass Bay Commuter Railroad's new safety initiative is to put the AEDs on every train.
WBZ
A North Andover man is alive Thursday thanks to a change the MBTA is making at all of its stations.
The "T" is adding safety upgrades, including automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, in stations and commuter trains.
One of those devices saved a man's life Wednesday when a he had a seizure while waiting on a bench in the middle of North Station during the evening rush.
Patricia Rogers and Army Specialist Alex Santos were nearby.
"I heard someone yell and noticed the man on the bench was in distress," Rogers said.
The 53-year-old man who collapsed was in medical distress, having a seizure. But thankfully Rogers is a nursing student and Santos is a medic in the Army. Also nearby was Candice Kruszkowski, a nurse from Children Hospital. The three raced to save the stranger.
It wasn't just their quick actions but the portable defibrillator right around the corner in a box that helped.
John Hogan with the Mass. Bay Commuter Rail said the defibrillator saved the man's life.
"They had started CPR, and the CPR didn't work," Hogan said.
Part of the MBTA and Mass Bay Commuter Railroad's new safety initiative is to put the AEDs on every train.
It comes after a Wellesley man died on a train in 2002 and his widow pushed for the change.
"It's extremely user-friendly, and it tells you exactly where to put the patches on," Rogers said.
Quick action combined with life-saving technology made the difference for a man and his family.
"One thing that stood out for me was I kept seeing his wedding ring, so I knew that somebody was out there expecting him to come home," Rogers said.
The North Andover man is in serious condition at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Right now, 75 percent of the trains have portable defibrillators on them. By the end of March they'll be on every train.
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