In this Mic’d In New Haven highlight, Captain Matt Mitchell remembers responding to a call for an 18-year-old Wawa employee who suddenly collapsed in cardiac arrest.
There was no ALS unit immediately available, leaving the BLS crew to begin the resuscitation themselves.
Mitchell’s crew had something the responding BLS unit did not normally carry: a LUCAS mechanical CPR device. They placed it on the patient and maintained consistent compressions as the team continued working him.
Then came the result every responder hopes for:
They got him back — without ALS medications ever being administered.
The young man survived and eventually made a full recovery after a lengthy road back. Mitchell says doctors later discovered that he had underlying heart defects.
Looking back, Mitchell credits the immediate response, teamwork, and consistent CPR provided by the LUCAS device with making a critical difference.
“He would have died if we were all not there working.”
A remarkable save — and a reminder of what can happen when preparation, equipment, and people all come together at exactly the right moment.
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