EMS Week 2008: 14th Annual Second Chance Brunch
Shamia Jones (center) is honored at the 14th Annual Second Chance Brunch during EMS Week 2008, she is joined by her mom, Lora (right), and her rescuer, Lt. Kim Weaver. The other survivors honored during the ceremony included Eric Otoo, George Patsalos, Daniel Ramirez, Dolores Sagar, Joan Monteleone, Harichand Mangaru, Faye Newsome and Catherine Manning.
Nine victims of cardiac arrest - ranging in age from 1- to 87-years-old - had the opportunity to thank the FDNY members who saved their lives at the 14th Annual Second Chance Brunch on May 19.
“Today’s celebration of lives saved helps us look beyond the statistics and gives us a chance to meet the real people who have been touched by the work our members do each day,” Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta said during the ceremony at the Fire Academy on Randalls Island.
Tears of joy and embraces marked the ceremony, which included the emotional reunion of the paramedics, EMTs and firefighters with the victims they saved.
“Thank you to our members for the work you do in the field every day,” said Chief of Department Salvatore Cassano.
Chief of EMS John Peruggia added: “I can’t think of a better way to kick off EMS Week 2008 than by honoring our own.”
Among the survivors was Shamia Jones, who was just a year old when she was resuscitated by EMS Lt. Kim Weaver of Station 32 on October 14, 2006.
The family was driving home when Shamia began choking on a piece of candy. They flagged down Lt. Weaver, who had just started her shift and was driving behind them. She did the Heimlich maneuver on the girl, then performed three rounds of back blows and chest thrusts until the candy was dislodged.
“She just jumped out of her car, kicked into action and saved my baby’s life,” said Lora Jones, Shamia’s mother. “We never forgot her and I always looked forward to seeing her again.”
During the event, Ms. Jones also read a poem written by her other daughter, Shanaya, about the rescue, ‘Thank You It Would Be,’which included the line: “Thank you for saving her because you saved a part of me.”
Yet Lt. Weaver remained humble about the rescue, “It’s very poignant. It’s extremely gratifying and I’m grateful to the Department for giving me the training that enabled me to step in and help.”
Another survivor attending the event was 87-year-old Catherine Manning, who went into cardiac arrest at her home on December 25, 2007.
Her son, Daniel, who is a retired firefighter from Ladder 43, immediately began doing CPR on his mother until firefighters from Engine 308 in Queens arrived. They then attached a breathing mask to the woman and used an external defibrillator (AED) to deliver one shock, successfully restarting her heart.
Ms. Manning said she was thrilled to be able to thank her rescuers, even telling her family in Ireland about the event.
“I told [my rescuers] ‘thank you,’” she said.
“And one of them told me, ‘Merry Christmas,’” she said with a laugh, referring to the date of her rescue.
“It was a very merry Christmas,” said her son, Daniel. “She’s living proof that when everybody works together, things work out.”