A Palm Harbor man got to thank the firefighters who helped save his life on Monday.
Mark Greer, 41, went into cardiac arrest last month.
Firefighters from Station 66 worked to save his life.
“When we arrived, we found Mark’s girlfriend doing high quality CPR. He was laying on the bedroom floor,” firefighter Josh Lovetere said.
Firefighters had to shock Greer 13 times and CPR was maintained for 26 minutes before his heart converted to a rhythm with a pulse.
His girlfriend, Jennifer Agisotelis said it was a very scary moment.
“They shocked him 13 times, while I was there screaming at them to save him… which of course they were trying to do the entire time,” she said.
When he arrived to the emergency room, Greer went into cardiac arrest two more times.
After various procedures, medications and being weened off a ventilator, Greer was discharged from the hospital two weeks after his initial heart attack.
Both Greer and his girlfriend, Jennifer, stopped by the station on Monday to meet the crew.
The crew told News Channel 8’s Rod Carter, they don’t always know patients are doing after they help them.
“It always feels good when have some closure to certain calls. Cardiac arrest is not only traumatic for the family, but for us too. It’s hard work for us, they take a long time. We want to make sure we do the best job possible, but we also like to find out the end result,” said Lt. Keith Maciuba of Palm Harbor Fire Rescue.
Through Facebook networking, Jennifer was able to connect with PHFR to get in touch with the crew.
The couple brought cookies and brownies to say thank you.
The fire crew however, is thankful that Jennifer knew CPR. They said what she did, administering it for several minutes before they arrived, is what really saved his life.
“We like the thanks. It’s great, but we’re not the ones who saved his life. It was Jennifer.”
A GoFundMe was created to help Mark with his medical expenses.
