Team JBB aids first sergeant during heart attack

Photo By Andria Allmond | Airman Jeffery McCarty of the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and volunteer referee came to the aid of 1st Sgt. Eric Colvin, a member of the 699th Maintenance Co., when he suffered a heart attack at the west side gym here, July 14. Members of the first sergeant's team applied critical life-saving maneuvers to keep Colvin alive until medics arrived.  

BALAD, IRAQ

07.28.2009

Story by Senior Airman Andria Allmond  

332d Air Expeditionary Wing

JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Whether service members here have a "wingman" or a "battle buddy," the ethos of helping a comrade in need arose during a basketball game, July 14.

Headed by their coach, Sgt.1st Class Anthony Jones of the 699th Maintenance Company, a basketball team compiled of Airmen and Soldiers aided their fellow team member, 1st Sgt. Eric Colvin of the 699th Maintenance Co., after he showed heart-attack symptoms during a game at the west side gym.

"I knew he had a heart attack years ago," said Jones, a member of the same unit as Colvin. "Actually, it was four years ago that day. When I saw him slumping over in the chair, I knew he wasn't just kidding around. I knew he was having another heart attack."

Jones wasn't the only one to take notice to the first sergeant's collapse. Airman Jeffery McCarty of the 332nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and referee during the game, reacted immediately when Sergeant Colvin appeared to be choking.

"I ran to get a phone to call for help and was yelling that we needed a medic," he said. "The (third-country national) working at the gym found a phone and I dialed 9-1-1.

Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Hartley of the 582th Sustainment Brigade, Staff Sgt. Cedric Hughes of the 532nd ESFS, and Jones attempted to keep Sergeant Colvin alert. His breathing became increasingly labored, and his condition worsened.

"We knew things were going badly when his hands started to curl and his jaw locked," said Jones. "A nurse, who was working out in the gym at the time, as well as a few combat-medic trained Soldiers in the area, arrived and began [cardiopulmonary resuscitation]."

Realizing the urgency of the situation, Hughes left the gymnasium hoping to find help from someone at the outdoor pool, approximately one-quarter mile away from the basketball court. There he found lifeguard and aquatics coordinator, Andrea Walters.

"We were doing some training with our senior lifeguard instructor when Sergeant Hughes ran up to the pool and got our attention," said Walters. "Two other lifeguards and I followed him to the basketball court where there was a crowd of people gathered. They parted like the Red Sea when they saw us run in."

She found Colvin lying on his back on the floor and began assisting with rescue breathing, attempting to bring life back to his body. After multiple rounds of CPR in conjunction with the automatic external defibrillator -- there was still no pulse

"I started reciting Psalm 23 in his ear and told him to keep fighting," she said. "I could hear everyone praying around us. God was our autopilot that day."

Eventually, medics arrived and stabilized Colvin, who was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany. He is now at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Unit, Washington, D.C.

"I just talked to him on the phone," Jones said with a smile. "He's doing great and resting up, but he expressed that he wants to come back [to JBB]. He is a Solider -- he wants to come back to the fight."

• Date Taken: 07.28.2009
• Date Posted: 07.28.2009 08:05
• Story ID: 36894
• Location: BALAD, IQ