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MILLSTONE: Heartfelt gratitude

Golfer thanks those who saved his life after heart attack

By Amy Batista, Special Writer
   MILLSTONE — When Bill Baker clutched his chest and fell to the green at the 16th hole at Charleston Springs, he didn’t realize his last swing on the golf course was almost his last.
   For the next five minutes, and for what seemed like an eternity, his golfing buddies, Charleston Spring Golf Course employees, first-responders, Millstone Township firefighters and first aid EMTs took turns performing CPR. Their teamwork March 23 saved Mr. Baker’s life in a successful resuscitation that involved no paramedics since none were available at the time.
   On Friday, Mr. Baker was reunited for the first time at the Millstone Township firehouse with most of the first-responders who had played a role in saving his life.
   ”I don’t remember anything about that day,” said Mr. Baker, of Jackson, as he addressed the group. “I remember leaving my office in Matawan and that’s it.”
   Mr. Baker said he slipped into a coma for part of the week following his heart attack, but was a “sudden cardiac death” survivor. Surgeons later gave him an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and a pacemaker.
   ”I feel great. It’s quite a process to go through,” Mr. Baker said.
   His wife, Sheryl Baker, also thanked all of the Millstone first-responders.
   ”You are all miracle workers,” Mrs. Baker said. “We have thought about you constantly through this whole process. If it wasn’t for you guys, he wouldn’t be standing here today.”
   On March 23, Millstone Fire Lt. Mike Maloney, firefighter Tim Byrne, firefighter Josh Jamison and volunteer firefighter James Walsh were dispatched by engine for a “CPR in progress” at the 16th hole of Charleston Springs Golf Course in Millstone. There they met firefighter Keith Buckalew, who responded in the utility truck, and Chief John Fiore and firefighter James Carbin.
   If was volunteer firefighter Walsh’s first time performing CPR on a patient, the group pointed out.
   ”We packaged (Mr. Baker) and moved him to a pickup truck to drive him out of the course to the ambulance,” Lt. Maloney said.
   ”To see people make a complete recovery from an event like that does not happen very often,” Lt. Maloney said. “And the fact that the family has been in contact with us has made it that much more of an enjoyable experience because often we never hear how people make out…” Lt. Maloney said.
   ”It was a sigh of relief,” said firefighter Jamison, a fourth-generation fireman. “Anytime someone is resuscitated, and it is successful and a job well done, it reverts back to your training and experience.”
   Mr. Baker said he felt it was important to return to Millstone and personally thank the people who had saved his life, but somehow words seemed inadequate.
   ”We say thank-you for people who open a door for us. We say thank-you to people who give us good service. But how do you say thank-you to guys who came running through the woods, located me, resuscitated me, did CPR, got me into some contraption I don’t know what you call it, got me to the hospital, and saved my life?” Mr. Baker said.
   ”Stokes basket,” the firefighters responded helpfully to identify the “contraption.”
   Mrs. Baker presented the first-responders with a plaque she had made herself and read the inscription: “We appreciate the Millstone Township Fire Department for performing lifesaving efforts on behalf on William Baker on March 23rd, 2012. Our family wishes to express our gratitude to Lt. Mike Maloney and his team, their courage, their professionalism, and skill under dire circumstances. We will always remember your actions and are forever in your debt.”
   ”Nobody thinks that something like this is going to happen to them,” Mrs. Baker said. “It happens to somebody else. Everybody thinks they are never going to need a service like this, but the people of Millstone can really go to sleep at night and walk around every day feeling safe knowing that this group of people are here.”
   Lt. Maloney said the episode highlights the importance of CPR training.
   ”Your golf group started CPR right away, gave us something to work with,” Mr. Maloney pointed out. The fact that a Monmouth County Parks Department employee was able to get a defibrillator immediately was also very important to the successful outcome, he said.
   ”All the stars aligned properly,” Mr. Baker agreed. “It was the best place I could’ve been.”
   Wayne Connelly, of Jackson, a Monmouth County Parks System employee at Charleston Spring Golf Course, recalled his role in helping save Mr. Baker’s life.
   ”I’ve had to drag the defibrillator out maybe three times before Bill and usually what happens is the EMTs are there first,” Mr. Connelly said. “In this case, they were not there, so when I arrived there were a bunch of golfers and you could see Bill was unresponsive.
   ”I grabbed the defibrillator, and I lifted his shirt, and put the pads on right away, turn on the thing right away and it analyzes and it says get ready to shock and I clear,” Mr. Connelly said. “So what is going through my head is I got to get this guy back … so I shock him.”
   After the first shock to the heart, the defibrillator analyzed Mr. Baker’s vital signs and reported back, “no shock needed.”
   ”And I said ‘yes!’ cause that means he has a pulse,” Mr. Connelly recalled.
   It was at that point that additional helped arrived from the Millstone Township Fire Department, which performed CPR and got the patient to the ambulance.
   Bob Trifiro and Nancy Parmegiani of the Millstone First Aid Squad transported Mr. Baker to CentraState Medical Center along with firefighter Jamison.
   ”As Millstone First Aid Squad president for the last two years, and having been a squad member for the last 12, I have the opportunity of working with many different local and state agencies,” Mr. Trifiro said.
   ”The CPR save with Mr. Baker is one example (of) multiple agencies working together to save a life,” Mr. Trifiro said. “It is always wonderful when we can perform our jobs and a life is saved. I have been involved in over 100 CPR situations, and of all those, four patients were survivors.”
   Mr. Trifiro, a certified CPR instructor, said the low survival rate is due to the patient not receiving immediate CPR from those around him when the heart attack occurs.
   ”A two-hour investment of your time (in CPR training) truly might save one of your loved ones,” Mr. Trifiro said. “Mr. Baker survived for this exact reason.”