Author: STAFF

North Carolina EMT Angel Cureton Needs A Heart Transplant

Angel Cureton, Shelby North Carolina EMT

Angel Cureton knows how quick medical tragedy can change a life. As a North Carolina EMT she wanted to help make those situations better. She didn’t think at 43 it might happen to her per reports in her local newspaper.

Cureton, a Shelby EMT experienced a massive heart attack in June. Since then Cureton has been in and out of surgery to repair the damage, now she is facing the decision of having a heart transplant or living off a machine for years.

Angel Cureton, Shelby North Carolina EMT

“Just a few weeks before I was getting up and going about. In a blink of an eye, everything changed,” she said.

An EMT Knows: Moments Matter When Little Things Matter

June 15 started like any other morning for Angel and her husband, Ricky Cureton. She got up around 7 a.m. to get ready for the day, but as she was getting ready Ricky noticed she looked off. She had experienced an arterial heart spasm eight years before this, but since then Angel had been fine.

“She took a nitro and sat down on the floor in our bathroom,” he said.

After that episode, Angel decided to continue to work.

“I went to work and got there around 7:45. I just didn’t feel right,” she said.

Her fellow EMTs put her on a heart monitor to make sure she was OK. At first, nothing abnormal showed up, but they kept monitoring to be sure and called Ricky to come pick her up.

“By the time they got the stretcher to her office, she could barely walk,” he said.

The EMT Becomes The Patient

Angel Cureton was packed into an ambulance and rushed to Atrium Health-Cleveland in Shelby.

“We went to the hospital, and it was a blur from there,” she said.

“They put her on nitro drip and couldn’t get relief. She started having a lot more pain,” Ricky said.

Angels condition was deteriorating, and she needed more help than could be done in Shelby. She was flown do Charlotte for a double bypass.

During all of this, Angel was vaguely aware of what was going on. She began hearing codes and words she used in the past on patients. What she heard wasn’t reassuring.

While most people don’t understand the codes they hear as doctor’s work on them, she knew that she was having a heart attack that it was causing major damage.

“It’s a little scarier,” she said.

Doctors with the catheterization laboratory in Charlotte were able to get Angel into surgery quickly.

“By the time I got there she was coming out of surgery. The doctor said she is doing alright but said he didn’t like some of the things he saw,” said Ricky.

The next few days were filled with ups and downs as Angel tried to recover but one night in the ICU her conditions went downhill. She was taken back to surgery for a double by-pass. She began to make improvements after that, her husband said.

A Trip To The Beach Isn’t

The improvements were enough that the couple was given the all-clear to head to a beach family trip that was planned months ahead of time. They packed their bags and headed south to meet up with their kids and other family members.

“We got there and she did good the whole ride,” Ricky said.

But things took a turn, and Angel was transported back to Charlotte.

There, doctors discovered the double bypass had failed, and her heart was not circulating blood properly. After another round of tests and medication, the Curetons were sent back home. But Angel needs a heart transplant or left ventricular assist device that would keep her heart pumping.

Paying the Bills

As the couple worked on keeping Angel alive, the medical bills began to pile up and neither of them has medical insurance.

“The helicopter ride is $36,000. The open heart surgery is $150,000 and that was just one surgery,” Ricky said.

The two are working to get her on disability, but the process has been anything but easy. With his wife’s income gone and their saving dwindling, they have received support from some community members and friends.

Family friends also organized a fundraiser with Lafayette Street Grill in Shelby today. The restaurant will be giving 10 percent of all sales on Friday to the family to help pay the medical bills. There will also be t-shirts for sale and live music by OLM & N-Repair.

“If she is well enough, Angel will be out there,” Ricky said.

Angel Cureton: One More Hospital Visit

Two weeks ago, while on a telemedicine call, the doctor noticed the Angel was not looking well and suggested she get to the hospital immediately. One of the surgeries needed to happen now or she would die.

But without insurance, the two were fighting a battle to get any surgery approved.

“The doctors basically said we are not going to let this woman just sit here and die,” Angel said.

She received the left ventricular assist device and has been feeling better with each passing day.

“I have to brag on the doctors in Charlotte. They have been amazing. If it was not for them, I would not be here today,” she said.

She may be on the mend, but there are still many battles ahead. The device she has in place now can last for years, but doctors are still recommending a heart transplant. With O negative blood, it will be difficult for her to find a match, so no decisions have been made yet.

Rescue The Rescuers

Never Forget 9-11 Foundation has a #RescueTheRescuer Fund set up to assist in cases like this. If you are able, please donate here.

Angel Cureton Fundraiser

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Paramedic Arrested for Pointing Gun

A 34-year-old paramedic with Mobile Life Support Services (MLSS), Brandon Selleck, has been arrested by New York State Police for pointing a handgun at the victim during a domestic dispute.

The Troopers say that on July 7, just before 1:00 am, Selleck was involved in a domestic dispute in Wappingers Falls, leading the other party to report it to police.

Several hours later, at 12:30 pm, Troopers arrested Selleck at work at the Mobile Life ambulance station in Buchanan.  The paramedic was charged with felony Criminal Possession of a Weapon and the misdemeanors of Menacing with a Weapon and Criminal Possession of a Controlled Substance.  He was released on his own recognizance.

Selleck’s charge of possession of a controlled substance is because he had prescription amphetamines without a valid prescription. It is unclear if his behavior is related to undiagnoses mental health issues.

MLSS Paramedics On Duty

Other MLSS Paramedic Comments

Selleck’s coworkers are angered that Mobile Life allowed him to return to work the following day.  “He pointed a gun during an argument.  That’s frightening,” said a fellow MLSS paramedic.  A second medic added “To make it worse, he supposedly had illegal amphetamines.  If he is using drugs and is capable of pointing a pistol at another person, we don’t feel safe around him.”  The coworkers asked to have their identities withheld for fear of retaliation by Selleck.

 

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Michigan Funeral Home Brings Back Dead

A Michigan funeral home brings back the dead ti life. A Detroit woman on Sunday “did not have signs of life,” according to paramedics who declared her dead earlier in the day, but staff at the James H. Cole Funeral Home found the 20-year-old was breathing and alive.

Michigan Funeral Home

According to local news, paramedics with Southfield Fire Department on Sunday responded to a call about a woman in cardiac arrest. Southfield Fire Dept. released a statement stating in part, “The paramedics performed CPR and other life reviving methods for 30 minutes. Given medical readings and the condition of the patient, it was determined at that time that she did not have signs of life.”

Reports indicate a police officer “allegedly saw her move and breathe and called the fire crews back, but fire crews claim those were the side effects of the medication given to her.”

Michigan Funeral Home

The woman was taken to the Cole Funeral Home in Detroit. Employees there discovered she was still breathing and called EMS. She was taken to a hospital. No other information on the location, her name or current condition was immediately available Monday.

“We couldn’t believe it,” said Dave Fornell, deputy commissioner of the Detroit fire department, who added that her heart rate was 80.

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FDNY EMS: Lives Are At Risk

FDNY EMS Respond

The FDNY EMS union President says “lives are at risk” as the City of New York plans to cut 400 EMS positions.

FDNY EMS Local 257 President Oren Barzilay said in a statement to NBC News, “Even with the threat of a second wave of COVID19 looming and two recent outbreaks in Brooklyn, Bill de Blasio and his team at City Hall wants to balance the city’s budget on our backs, eliminating some 400 emergency medical responder positions and placing every New Yorker’s life at risk.”

FDNY EMS Respond To Trouble Breathing

Mayor Bill de Blasio’s press secretary did not deny that the city was preparing to lay off FDNY EMS providers, and said in a statement that the city is dealing with a budget hole due to a lack of stimulus funds and borrowing authority. He said the city is working with unions to avoid some layoffs where possible but that every city agency is facing layoffs.

De Blasio previously said in May that FDNY EMS layoffs were “on the table” due to an estimated $7.4 billion in revenue losses from the pandemic.

FDNY EMS

The FDNY has seen historic call volumes during the COVID19 pandemic, with EMS providers responding to up to 6,500 calls per day, the most since 9-11. At least eleven FDNY members, including four EMS providers, have died secondary to COVID19.

“Yesterday, we were praised as heroes, essential workers saving lives. Today, the city government treats us like zeros,” Barzilay told NBC. “New Yorkers who lived through this deadly pandemic know otherwise.”

Some responders liken the situation to September 11 when responders were universally praised only to be forgotten when the smoke cleared.

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South Carolina Fire Chief Health Incident

24% Pay Raise Not Enough For EMS Responders

A Fire Chief Health Incident recently has the South Carolina Senate Minority Leader wanting Aiken County to do a better job of providing emergency medical services, especially in the rural area that is part of his district.

In a letter to County Council Chairman Gary Bunker and other County Council members, dated June 15, Nikki Setzler described a situation that occurred last month when Hollow Creek Fire Department Chief Glenn Poole “had a health incident” and an ambulance was called.

Fire Chief Health Incident Earns Seztler's Ire

“I am told that it took two (2) hours for him to be transported to the Lexington County Hospital,” Setzler wrote. “Providing ambulance service to the citizens of Aiken County is a responsibility of County Council, and therefore I am contacting you to express my concern.”

Setzler, a Lexington Democrat, represents Senate District 26, which includes the northern portion of Aiken County along with parts of Calhoun, Lexington and Saluda counties.

Fire Chief Health Incident Not Only Issue

“In speaking with representatives of the various volunteer fire departments and other constituents, I am told that this (a long wait for an ambulance) is more a regular occurrence rather than an exception,” Setzler wrote. “I am further informed that of the three EMS stations located in Wagener, Monetta and Windsor, it is common for only one station to be staffed with personnel on site while the other two are closed.”

As a result, an ambulance sometimes has to be sent from another part of Aiken County. That “puts people in need of immediate medical attention at an increased risk,” Setzler wrote, adding that they also might die while waiting for transport.

Setzler called for the issues involving the staffing of EMS stations and prolonged ambulance response times to be resolved by County Council “as soon as possible.”

County Administrator Clay Killian told the Aiken Standard on Monday that County Council “is very aware” of the problems and is “very interested in making sure the service is everything it needs to be.”

The two biggest challenges are the need to increase pay and the decreasing number of people who want to be emergency medical technicians and paramedics, according to Killian.

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, County Council raised the salaries of EMS workers by 4% and then by 10%.

During its meeting Tuesday, the panel is scheduled to consider the third and final reading of an ordinance to establish the 2020-2021 fiscal year budget for the county. It includes a 3% across-the-board pay raise for county employees.

Bunker has told the Aiken Standard that he would like to give EMS and Sheriff’s Office workers a 5% increase instead of 3%.

But that still might not be enough because the county faces stiff competition for EMS employees from other counties nearby and from private companies.

“The pipeline is not big enough to fill the vacancies that are occurring, and there is kind of a hiring war right now,” Killian said. “It’s difficult work, and there are not a lot of people who want to do that kind of work. We’re trying to encourage people to go to school, and we’re paying for people to go to school. There are more jobs open than there are (qualified) people for them.”

Aiken County has tried to fill the gaps through agreements with Aiken Rescue, a nonprofit, and SouthStar Emergency Medical Services, a private company, to make their ambulances available to respond to 9-1-1 calls.

“The bottom line is we know this is a service that we’ve got to provide, and we’re going to try to do everything we can to provide it at the highest level we can,” Killian said. “I don’t know what it’s going to take, but we are going to continue to work on it. We’re running 20,000 calls a year, so it’s a busy, busy service. And as our community grows, we are going to have to put more services out there.”

Killian could not confirm that it took two hours to transport Poole to a hospital but said, “It was longer than we would have liked.” One reason why it took longer than usual was because the SouthStar vehicle that responded broke down, Killian reported.

Also, “the Wagener truck was already on a call,” he said.

When there is not enough staff to go around, the current strategy is to close EMS stations in rural areas because “the likelihood of a call coming out of Aiken and North Augusta is much higher,” Killian explained.

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Support Small Business

On Wednesday, May 6, 2020 Never Forget Foundation launched a fundraising program to support small business. The goal is to help deliver financial grants and PPE to small companies – especially those that support local fire, rescue, and police services – and to get PPE into the hands of responders on the front lines of the COVID19 pandemic.

support small business administration

We know that the federal Small Business Administration has not got the job done through the SBA EIDL – Economic Injury Disaster Loans – or the Paycheck Protection Program. Report after report has come out saying big business has gotten SBA loans meant for small business. We know we can do better and we want to focus on the mom and pop and local shops that support our public safety community every day.

We support small business

Our non profit is intentionally diverse so we can represent all of America. We also look to support the entire community of businesses that supply our needs. This is so that everyone has an opportunity to succeed and overcome adversity and challenge.

We want to make sure that in those communities where business restrictions exist we can offer support also whether it is Dallas, Texas or San Francisco, California.

Our goal is to keep minority, woman, and/or veteran owned small business afloat during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Most grants and loans probably won’t protect members of the service industry. They won’t protect the party planner, your favorite boutiques, beautician, barber, food trucks, or many other small businesses.

Our project is hoping to help pay rents, booth costs, and equipment rental/storage fees for minority, woman, and/or veteran owned small business. We know everyone needs time to adjust to the new normal without drowning in deferred debt. We also want to buy PPE from these groups for delivery to their local responders.

With your donations we will be able to help small business, especially minority, woman, and/or veteran owned small business and get PPE to the healthcare providers fighting COVID19.

Our immediate goal is to cover their rent. Every $10,000.00 collected can give four to five minority, woman, and/or veteran owned small business another month to make adjustments.

Please donate and share this to keep small businesses afloat across the nation during COVID19! Please share #NeverForgetSmallBiz and donate today.

 

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Bush 43 COVID19 Message

President George W Bush 43 delivered a COVID19 message powerfully to America. It called for an end to partisanship in favor of everyone helping their community.

Bush tweeted on Saturday a video encouraging Americans to be their best selves during the coronavirus pandemic.

“We serve our neighbor by separating from them,” Bush said in the video. “We cannot allow physical separation to become emotional isolation. This requires us to not only be compassionate but creative in our outreach.”

He added, “Let us remember empathy and simple kindness are essential, powerful tools of national recovery. Even at an appropriate social distance, we can find the way to be present in the lives of others. … In the final analysis, we are not partisan combatants. We’re human beings, equally vulnerable and equally wonderful in the sight of God.”

President George H W Bush 41 and President George W Bush 43 – Commitment to Service

George W Bush 43 Portrait

Both Presidents Bush have been known for their commitment to public service.

From the end of his one term as president through his death at 94, President Bush 41 turned his focus toward inspiring others to pursue public service through his Points of Light Foundation. He also worked with former President Bill Clinton to raise funds in the wake of natural disasters such as the 2004 southeast Asian tsunami.

Simiularly President Bush 43 has been involved with the AIDS/HIV epidemic in Africa, empowering women in the public realm, and the Call to Unite program.

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Jason Knox LODD

Officer Jason Knox

Jason Knox (Houston Police Department) was killed and another officer was in critical condition when their helicopter clipped a building Saturday. May 2, 2020 per NBC News.

Officer Jason Knox

The pilot and Officer Knox were on a routine work call out when they crashed at approximately 2 a.m. said Art Acevedo, Houston Chief of Police. Both were trapped in the helicopter’s “mangled wreckage.” They were freed by fire department responders before being transferred to the Memorial Hermann Hospital.

The pilot remains in a “critical condition” and was “very banged up” Acevedo said.

In a Facebook post, Never Forget 9-11 Foundation board Member Christopher Suprun reflected on the dangers of public safety and public safety helicopter operations saying “I have been in public safety since 1992 and my job will kill you if you screw up. You can be young or old. It can be day or night. If you fly, it can be single or twin engine. Bottom line is your next mistake might be your last. Mistakes happen, but you gotta do everything possible to make the small mistakes as far apart as possible.”

Officer Jason Knox

Knox leaves behind a wife and two children. The department said he had been on the force for nearly eight years and was an air and marine division officer for more than a year.

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Do You Reject Help?

Looking For Help

Know anyone who will reject help?

We know emergency responders battle everything from fires to terrorist threats. They respond to the public’s worst day. Emergency responders, be they fire, EMS, or police are modern-day heroes and should receive all the support they need to thrive outside work. Too often they reject help they need to do their job.

In many instances first responders suffer neglect from a society that does not understand all what goes into the day to day activities in our job. Even close family members and friends may turn a blind eye and deaf ear to what we live at work. Emergency responders face humanity at its worst state on a daily basis.

With all that emergency responders deal with, and given the lack of support from society at large, it is little wonder why many police officers, firefighters, and emergency services staff like paramedics and EMTs become addicted to drugs and alcohol. In fact, about 30 percent of first responders develop mental issues that may lead to drug abuse during their time of service.

Quest 2 Recovery has a mental health program designed to help first responders recover from drug and alcohol abuse.

Reject Help?

It’s well known that emergency responders experience higher levels of stress and emotional trauma that have a negative impact on physical and emotional health. First responders perform a job that requires troubleshooting and mitigating emergencies, mental health issues are all too common for them, like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD is usually triggered by a specific event – either experienced or witnessed. PTSD symptoms can include flashbacks, nightmares and severe anxiety. Since everyone is different and processes trauma in different ways, symptoms of PTSD can vary from person to person. Symptoms are grouped into four types: intrusive memories, avoidance, negative changes in thinking and mood, and changes in physical and emotional reactions.

Do You Reject Help

It’s also common for first responders to develop substance abuse issues.These can develop slowly and without warning. Working professionals look forward to unwinding after work – sometimes with a drink. Sometimes it’s in the comfort of their own home or sometimes with friends. The same goes for first responders. The difference between the two is the person working a desk job probably doesn’t have trouble sleeping at night, whereas the first responder may be up all night reliving the trauma they experienced during the day. The one drink the first responder uses to unwind after work could turn into drinking an entire bottle so they can fall asleep.

Addiction is something that develops over time, especially when unresolved trauma and stress build up. We hope if you’re a first responder struggling with mental illness and addiction you will not reject help, but will reach out to an organization like Quest 2 Recovery or the All Clear Foundation. It can be challenging for our community front line to emergencies to seek help because they’re worried about the stigma of ‘not being able to handle the job’, but getting help isn’t a sign of weakness, it’s a sign of strength. Never Forget 9-11 Foundation will always support responders working to overcome the adversity of this job.

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What’s Hart Island Hiding?

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[et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text”]Hart Island Mass Burial of COVID19 Patients

Hart Island, sometimes referred to as Hart’s Island, is located at the western end of Long Island Sound, in the Bronx Bourough of New York City. It measures almost a mile and is used as New York City’s Potter Field gravesite.

The remains of more than one million people are buried on Hart Island. Since the start of the 21st century, there are fewer than 1,500 burials a year. Burials on Hart Island include individuals who were not claimed by their families or did not have private funerals; the homeless and the indigent; and mass burials of disease victims.

Access to the island is restricted by the Department of Correction, which operates an infrequent ferryboat service and imposes strict visitation quotas. Burials are conducted by inmates from the Rikers Island jail. The Hart Island Project, a public charity founded by visual artist Melinda Hunt, has tried to improve access to the island and make burial records more easily available. Prior to 2019, several laws to transfer jurisdiction to the Parks Department had been proposed to ease public access to Hart Island.

In the linked article Steinmetz says, “To me, I start wondering if the word is out: ‘Hey, keep people out of Hart Island, because it makes us look bad.’”

While Mayor Bill de Blasio’s administration claimed this is an issue of protecting privacy there are several holes in that story. First, the persons buried on Hart Island are unclaimed by family or friends. Second, there are no open caskets. The journalists are simply recording the numbers and size of trenches to correlate to COVID19 data which indicates a pandemic much worse than publicly stated.

On Wednesday plain clothes officers with New York Police Department seized a drone being flown by award winning photojournalist George Steinmetz. Steinmetz has spent four decades shooting news for National Geographic and The New York Times Magazine.

Hart Island Grave Trench

Hart Island History

The island’s first public use was as a military training ground in 1864. It has also been a Union Civil War prison camp, psychiatric institution, a tuberculosis sanatorium, and its current day use as a potter’s field[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column]
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