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Friday, May 18, 2012
Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
Sue Barnes listens to her son, Rob, explain how he performed CPR on her until EMS personnel arrived when she went into cardiac arrest.
June 07, 2011
DALLAS -- Most moms expect gifts and quality time with their families on Mother's Day.
With the help of a Dallas Emergency Medical Services crew and Salem Hospital doctors, Dallas resident Sue Barnes' family gave her something more precious than any material present.
Her life.
On Sunday, May 8, Barnes was on her backyard deck with her daughter, Salem resident Molly Barnes, planting flowers. Sue's husband, Curtis, and their son, Rob, were at the couple's Dallas home enjoying the day with Sue.
Molly said she was busy filling planters with flowers when she felt her mom standing behind her.
At first she thought Sue was reaching for something, but then she felt her mom's hands on her shoulders. Gradually, Molly could feel her mom putting more and more weight on her.
Sue Barnes, left, hugging Dallas Fire Capt. Shaun Wagner, and husband Curtis, right, hugging Lt. Kim Storms, got to thank the Dallas EMS crew that helped save Sue.
Then Sue collapsed.
Molly realized immediately that something was wrong and called for her father.
"I apparently started screaming really loud," Molly recalled.
Curtis -- and many of the family's neighbors -- heard Molly's cries and rushed to see what was wrong.
"When I got there, I saw Sue was on the ground," Curtis said.
His first thought was to call for his son, a paramedic in training. Then both Curtis and Molly were screaming at the top of their lungs.
"She was at one door screaming `Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!' and I was at the other screaming 'Rob, Rob, Rob!'" Curtis said.
Within seconds, Rob was at his mother's side. His training kicked in.
"At first I tried calling her name," he said.
Getting no response, Rob said hestarted CPR. Periodically, he stopped to call out to his mom.
"Breathe, Momma, breathe!" he screamed, trying to rouse her to consciousness.
Sue was in cardiac arrest. Not the same as a heart attack, cardiac arrest is a disruption in the electrical impulses in the heart, causing an erratic rhythm and the heart to stop. As with the case involving Sue, often there are no warning signs. The survival rate for people who suffer cardiac arrest outside a hospital is low -- about 8 percent.
Rob's quick action, however, gave his mom a fighting chance. Sue breathed on her own for short durations before the ambulance arrived, but most of the time, Rob breathed for her.
He said he wished he had more lifesaving equipment and that help would arrive quickly.
"I was trying to listen for the ambulance," he said.
Meanwhile, Molly was giving 9-1-1 dispatchers all the information she could provide.
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Within the 4« minutes it took for the Dallas Emergency Medical Service team to arrive, crew chief Kim Storms -- an 11-year Dallas EMS veteran -- learned the seriousness of the emergency she was responding to.
May 8 was difficult for Storms to face. It was the first Mother's Day following her own mother's death last fall, so she decided to go into work to stay occupied.
That afternoon, she found herself racing to save the life of another family's mother.
Taking over for Rob, Storms and her crew went to work. It took four defibrillator shocks to start Sue's heart again. Once her heart was beating on its own, Storms gave Sue a drug to assist her heart in returning to a normal rhythm. Although Sue was breathing, Storms decided to sedate her and insert a breathing tube to prevent further complications on the ride to Salem Hospital.
From left: Curtis Barnes, Eric Martin, Molly Barnes, Jesse Friedow, Sue Barnes, Rob Barnes, Capt. Shaun Wagner and Lt. Kim Storms all played a part in the dramatic events that unfolded Sunday, May 8, in Dallas.
At the hospital, Sue's family soon found out her prognosis.
"The cardiologist came out and said to Rob `Congratulations -- you gave your mother the gift of life on Mother's Day,'" Curtis said.
Sue Barnes returned home after spending five days in the hospital. She has no memory of the experience or most of her hospital stay.
Recently, the Dallas EMS crew that helped save her life gathered at Barnes' house for a second time to meet Sue and her family.
"I thank God for putting these people in my life," Sue said, first looking at her children and then the lineup of emergency medical technicians sitting on her couch. "Without people wanting to learn what to do to help people, nobody would survive these things."
Sue said she is at a loss to find a way to thank her heroes.
"How do you thank your children?" she asked.
She said when she was told what Rob had done, at first she cried and then she felt "over-the-top proud of him."
"I'm very thankful for Rob," Sue said, first gazing at her son sitting by her side, and then across the room at her daughter with an expression of gratitude and motherly pride. "I'm incredibly thankful for Molly and her tremendous voice."
Storms left no ambiguity about the importance of Rob's actions.
"You most likely wouldn't be here if he hadn't been here," she told Sue. "Early CPR and quick responses save lives."
With that, Sue turned to her son, planting a kiss on his cheek.
"It was money well-invested in my school," Rob joked with his parents.
"Yeah, you've earned another semester," Curtis quipped.
For Storms, meeting Sue was thanks enough.
"It's so amazing to have you here -- to see you alive," Storms said to Sue. "To save a mother on Mother's Day, it's a life-changing experience."
Curtis said his family's life would have been forever changed without the heroism so many showed that afternoon.
"There were a lot of angels in the backyard that day," he said. "The city of Dallas should be proud of what it has in (Dallas EMS)."
Sue said she has been slowly piecing together the details of the day. Knowing that it could have been her last, she is challenged to find a way to use the uncommon gift she received.
"Now I have to figure out -- not so much why I was given a second chance -- but what I'm going to do with it," she said.
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