Cheyenne Women Honored for Saving Life
The women put their CPR instructor training to use.
When a woman went into cardiac arrest at IBMC, two employees at the clinic worked together to save her life.
By Juliette Rule
CHEYENNE - Two IBMC staffers were awarded Monday for their efforts in saving a woman's life.
Debbie Johnston and Angela Massengill just happened to be nearby when a woman, a client of the health-care training center's massage clinic, apparently went into cardiac arrest Aug. 31.
Johnston, a registered nurse who teaches at IBMC, and Massengill, a medical assistant program graduate now teaching for IBMC, were called into the therapy room by the massage student.
On Monday, Cheyenne Fire and Rescue spokesman Mark Norford and firefighter Steve Dillenbeck presented the Cheyenne women with certificates of appreciation.
"They did exactly what they were supposed to do," Norford said.
It helps, of course, that both had just completed their instructors' certification for CPR, but they did many other things right, Norford said.
When the student-therapist alerted them, they stayed calm and posted someone near the front of the building at 3525 Dell Range Blvd. to direct rescue workers.
"That's how CPR is supposed to work â?¦ to give people the best chance for survival until advanced life support can arrive," Norford said.
Ambulance personnel were delayed on another call, so paramedic-firefighters were the first to start delivering other life-saving measures.
Chances are good the woman, who Cheyenne Fire and Rescue didn't identify, citing federal guidelines for primary health-care providers, didn't know she was headed for a heart attack that day, Johnston said.
"It was just a freak occurrence," Johnston said. "But you know, women and heart disease."
The massage had barely started when the client's breathing changed, she explained. That was enough to get the student therapist's attention.
The award came at the behest of Dillenbeck, who insisted Johnston and Massengill were worthy of the honor, Norford said.
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