There are times when the phrase “You saved my life” is uttered that actually do not rise to the level of a life-saving event. And then there was what happened to the Redfield mayor, Roben Brooks.
She was having a stroke back in March, and because of the quick action – and thinking – of two first responders, she’s alive today.
When she was exhibiting signs of a stroke, her husband wanted the responders — Keirsten Caldwell, an emergency medical technician, and Joshua Robertson, a paramedic — to take his wife to Arkansas Heart Hospital. But that wasn’t going to get the job done.
“Our medics said, ‘No, we need to go somewhere else. They don’t do neurological things, They can’t handle a stroke,'” said Dwayne Aalseth with EASI ambulance service. “She was actually having a stroke. So they were able to convince her husband and her to go ahead and go to Baptist, and both her cardiologists and neurologists said she wouldn’t be here today walking and talking.”
After husband Ray called 911, emergency personnel “swarmed” their house. At that point, the mayor said she couldn’t feel anything on her left side.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
“They are my saviors,” she said at an awards ceremony for Caldwell and Robertson. “God gave me the gift of life, and you protected his gift, and I will forever be grateful to EASI. The compassion, I remember that because I remember I didn’t have a family member in the ambulance with me. Without you knowing that, you took care of it all.”
The award the two received is called the St. Michael Award, with Michael being the patron saint of emergency workers, and the first person to bestow it was, you guessed it, Mayor Brooks. The gesture was appreciated, since the award is usually given out internally.
“Crewmembers have a tough job and they don’t always hear the happy stuff,” said EASI CEO Josh Bishop. “It’s really good we’re able to … let these crews know you’re appreciated and the work and training you put in are being put to practice. As much as it means coming from us, it means a whole lot more coming from the patient.”
The mayor has since recovered from her episode, we are pleased to report, and she owes it all to the two people who came running when she needed help the most. Good that they are there.