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Rescue squad credited with saving man's life
(by Joan Demirjian - September 28, 2011)
Rescue squad credited with saving man's life
By JOAN DEMIRJIAN
After a nearly fatal attack by yellow jackets, Russell resident Victor Matthews credits a team effort by the Russell rescue squad in saving him.
The team included his son, Sam Matthews, a paramedic and member of the fire department.
Mr. Matthews was trimming a lilac bush about 4 p.m. Sept. 6 in his yard on Dines Road in Russell when he noticed a clogged drain by the driveway. As he approached, he saw some yellow jackets, he said. "I figured the nest was not far away, so I avoided them and went to my tractor to move it."
By starting the machine, he inadvertently riled the yellow jackets and they swarmed and attacked him, he said. They were the sentry yellow jackets and have a higher venom capacity than the queen and workers in the hive, he said.
Mr. Matthews, 67, is also a member of the Russell Fire Department. He is an emergency medical technician and has been in the department for 15 years.
After being stung, he went to the house and found four more yellow jackets in his shirt. As he was beginning to feel dizzy, he called 911.
"I was totally unconscious about four minutes after I was stung," Mr. Matthews said.
Sam Matthews said he was working at the station when the call was made.
"He told 911 he was having a reaction and about to pass out," Sam Matthews said of his father. The Geauga County Sheriff's Department dispatcher Blake Rogers, who is also a part-time Russell police officer, could hear his labored breathing.
"When we got there he was red all over, he was sweaty and he was gasping for air," Sam Matthews said of his father.
On the scene were Nicholas Martin, lead paramedic, and Brett Seckel, emergency medical technician. Bill Spaner, a paramedic, came on a second squad and jumped in and offered assistance.
They started an intravenous with saline solution and administered medications. "The critical part was giving the epinephrine in the IV for allergic reactions," Sam Matthews said.
"In the condition we found him, it could have been a lot worse, and he may not have survived," he said. "I'm glad we did what we did. Even a minute could have made difference."
"I went into shock," Mr. Matthews said. "They used seven drugs on me. They used every trick in the book to keep me alive."
The fire department responds to allergic reactions involving insect stings throughout the year, Sam Matthews said. Usually a bump or hives are the first sign. Those who have known reactions should carry a medication with them anywhere they go, he said. Yellow jacket and wasp nests should be eliminated by spraying with an insect poison.
Mr. Matthews was transported to Hillcrest Hospital. He was kept for observation for the night and he had a second reaction, breaking out in hives.
"The allergist told me I had enough venom to knock down a horse," he said. "The very aggressive treatment at the scene made all the difference, the doctor said."
His potassium levels had dropped significantly, and his blood pressure had dropped as well, which had caused him to pass out, he said. At the hospital, they treated Mr. Matthews with a potassium chloride drip through the night.
He recalled how he worked with his son and Nicholas Martin when they were cadets several years ago in the fire department.
"Never did I think they would someday save my life," Mr. Matthews said. "I was in real good hands. I had three paramedics looking after me."
Mr. Matthews, who is retired from Lincoln Electric, is considering a desensitizing process in which insect venom is used by the doctor to desensitize the body.
Mr. Matthews said he has gone all over the world lecturing as president of the American Welding Society. He has traded patches from the Russell Fire Department with other departments.
"I would put Russell Fire Department up against any department I've seen. It's one of the best in the world." It is a rural department, but the members are some of the best trained. "It truly was a team effort," he said of the yellow jacket incident.
He also stressed that one should never delay in calling 911, whether it is chest pain or a yellow jacket sting. "It can make all the difference in whether you survive," Mr. Matthews said.
Russell Fire Chief John Frazier said, "I commend them for the responders for their team effort," he said.
"This is a clear-cut case of how effective treatment by the paramedics can make a difference," Mr. Frazier said. "They saved his life."
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