Courtesy Photo | Womack nurse Cynthia Sherin poses with Steve Cannada in a photo minutes before he...... read more read more
FORT LIBERTY, NC— It began as a fun outing at the skating rink but nearly ended in disaster. Thanks to the instincts of Womack Army Medical Center nurse, Cynthia Sherin, one man lived to talk about it.
“I will never forget that day, it started out as a celebration at the skate park,” she said. Sherin, along with friends and family were attending a birthday party at a skate park in Raleigh, NC. “Things took a turn for the worse for a gentleman who appeared somewhat fatigued after a skating session.”
Steve Cannada, who was also out for an afternoon of skating, recalled that day. “I was very hot after skating and started feeling very strange,” he said. “I needed to leave the building so I could get in my truck and turn on the air conditioner to cool off before leaving.”
Cannada never made it to his truck. He had a seizure, passed out and when he came to, Sherin was standing over him. “I woke up, told her I was fine and tried to get in my truck again, but she wouldn’t let me,” he said. Sherin recognized he was having cardiac issues and despite his claims of being okay to drive, she began summoning first responders to get to the scene and quickly coordinated life-saving measures.
“She simply just refused to let me leave,” Cannada added. “She put her foot down and said she wasn’t letting me leave. Had she not done that, I would not be here today. She saved my life and for that I am forever grateful.”
Lisa Carpenter-Woodham, Sherin’s supervisor at Womack Army Medical Center , said it was Sherin’s four decades of nursing and medical instincts that saved Steve’s life.
“Because she responded quickly and did not allow him to leave the facility as he intended, he received prompt medical care,” Carpenter-Woodham said. “She also likely saved others because if he did drive off it is very possible, he may have injured or killed other drivers or pedestrians.”
Cannada, whom Sherin still checks in on occasionally, said, “I am here today because of her.” Sherin was recognized at an award ceremony at Womack for going over and beyond the call of duty.
For more information about heart attack symptoms, visit https://www.cdc.gov/heart-disease/about/heart-attack.html.
| Date Taken: | 10.30.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 10.30.2024 14:56 |
| Story ID: | 484201 |
| Location: | FORT LIBERTY, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | FORT LIBERTY, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 992 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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