Pontiac Pastor Praises Troy Paramedics Who Saved Wife’s Life (video)
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Dec. 28, 2014)
Grace Gospel Fellowship was full of thankful people on Sunday as Pastor Kent Clark gave appreciation to three paramedics from Alliance Mobil Health EMS in Troy who saved his wife’s life earlier this fall.
Pastor Clark told the story of how his wife Pam had a heart attack on the night of Aug. 20.
Pam had not been feeling well and seemed overcome by pain in her back. Pastor Clark knew something was wrong. “I went downstairs. I called 911,and they told me leave the front door open, leave the lights on so we’ll know where your house is… I went back upstairs, gave her the aspirin and she keeled over and actually stopped breathing and passed away.”
Paramedics Chris Johnson of Grand Blanc, Mike Ryan of Utica and Kurt Brinker of Troy arrived at the Clarks’ home to find Pam on the bed upstairs without a pulse. They worked steadily at the home and in the ambulance. The lights of the ambulance were not on and Pastor Clark feared for the worst.
Pastor Clark was beside himself. “That siren was the sweetest sound I’d ever heard,” he said. “I heard that siren and I thought something good must be happening.” Johnson, Ryan and Brinker took the Clarks to Troy Beaumont hospital, where Pam had a stint put in her heart and spent several days in care recovering.
“I’d been wanting to say something about first responders, and how in this nation we have lost our sense of gratitude for our police officers and our firefighers,” he said.
Johnson said that when he’s out on a life-saving run he doesn’t think about the pressure. “With the kind of training we get, we know how to handle high stress situations, and we know how to handle family members,” he said. Ryan is a reserve police officer and a firefighter. Johnson is working as an EMT as he takes steps towards becoming a police officer.
As paramedics they can see up to 10-15 calls a day, with varying degrees of seriousness. “It’s great when you can see there is a good outcome, and that your work is appreciated,” Ryan said.