George Durmer hugs two of his guardian angels, paramedic Beth Bodnar
and his son, Kevin
TOWN OF SOUTHEAST – George Durmer calls himself the ‘luckiest
man on earth’ after going into cardiac arrest not once but twice
within hours and living to tell the tale.
It was a week ago Saturday when Durmer, a member of the Brewster Fire
Department, came into his Cooledge Drive home in Southeast after gardening
and experienced severe chest pain. The 50-year-old asked his wife to call
911.
EMT and Paramedic Beth Bodnar, a neighbor, was passing Durmer’s
home when her pager went off. “I was directly in front of the residence
and walked in the door. George was having difficulty breathing and I immediately
realized he was having a heart attack. I contacted 9-1-1 and asked them
to expedite the paramedic who was in the neighborhood and arrived less
than a minute later.”
The Brewster Fire Department ambulance also quickly pulled up to the scene.
Durmer was hooked up to a variety of scans and once in the ambulance,
intravenous medication was administered.
Bodnar said while en route to Danbury Hospital, she was talking to Durmer
when he turned blue. “Paramedic Joe Bilalto and I gave him a cardio
thump. We shocked him and continued CPR. The Good Lord was on his side
because George became revived.”
The rescue rig diverted to Putnam Hospital Center in Carmel since Durmer
was not steady enough to travel directly to Danbury. At Putnam Hospital,
he was given stabilizing and life-saving drugs before being transferred
to the cardiac center at Danbury Hospital.
George’s son, Kevin, a member of the Brewster Fire Department and
an emergency medical technician in New York City, also assisted in the
life-saving.
“My training kicked in. I remember Beth telling me, ‘You shouldn’t
be here right now!’ I told her, ‘Too bad!’ Thank God
all went well,” said the young man.
Bodnar praised the younger Durmer. “Considering it was his dad on
that gurney, he did a remarkable job. I don’t know how I would be!”
Three stents were placed in Durmer’s heart during a cardiac procedure
at the hospital during which he went into cardiac arrest for a second
time before being revived on the operating table.
Last Friday, 24 hours after the ‘miracle man’ returned home
from the hospital, Durmer called the rescue crew and staff at both Putnam
and Danbury Hospitals his angels. “I owe these guys my life. They
are wonderful. I have been a member of the fire service since 1991. We
are family. I am so grateful and love them to pieces.”
