RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas –
Four fast-acting Team Randolph civilians who saved the life of a man who stopped breathing and went into cardiac arrest at the center in November of last year recently received awards for their valor.
Donna Arnold and Michele Martin, both financial management analysts, Carol Ann Moreno, career field management division, and Donna Taylor, 12th Contracting Squadron contracting specialist, received Air Force Civilian Medal of Valor awards presented for acts of heroism with voluntary risk of personal safety in the face of danger, from AFPC Commander Maj. Gen. K.C. McClain on March 19.
It was Nov. 21, 2008, when Tim Hyde, AFPC human resource analyst, who had been treated in the past for an irregular heartbeat, felt his heart racing strongly, but not painfully, as he sat at his desk in the center's D-wing.
"I felt a bad rhythm," Mr. Hyde said.
Ms. Taylor, who was nearby, saw him breathing heavily. She and others got him to lie on the floor.
Then he stopped breathing and passed out.
Ms. Martin heard co-workers close to Mr. Hyde's cubicle call his name twice. There was no response. Then she and others close by began yelling "Man down!"
Ms. Taylor began giving him breaths as part of CPR. Mr. Hyde was turning purple from not breathing.
Ms. Moreno, who heard the shouts, dashed about the length of a football field down a corridor to Mr. Hyde's desk. She began compressing his chest. Someone then called the
Randolph Air Force Base fire department.
Meanwhile, the two took turns with chest compressions while Ms. Taylor kept giving breaths.
It helped.
"Every now and then, he'd take a breath," Ms. Arnold said. "And I just kept pressing and pressing and pressing."
The assisted breathing continued for about 15 minutes. Ms. Moreno talked to Mr. Hyde during the rescue effort.
"I said, 'Don't worry, the ambulance is on its way. Just keep breathing. We're getting you the help you need. Hang on!'"
When she asked if he was taking any medication there was no answer.
Someone in the crowd near Mr. Hyde's cubicle checked his desk for medicine.
That was when Ms. Moreno felt his throat. There was a pulse.
"I found one real quick," she said. "That made me feel good."
By this time, Ms. Moreno noticed the migraine headache she had since that morning was gone after her sprint to Mr. Hyde's aid. Then the ambulance arrived. As the paramedics deployed their defibrillator, they noticed Taylor, Moreno and Martin taking turns giving Hyde breaths and chest compressions.
"Just keep doing what you're doing," one of the paramedics told the three. "You're doing fine."
Paramedics tore Mr. Hyde's shirt open, used the defibrillator and transported him to the hospital. Ms. Taylor and Ms. Moreno were finally able to rest.
Upset by the ordeal, Ms. Moreno hugged Ms. Arnold, saying,"' Look, we did what we could. He'll be ok. He's breathing.'"
Mr. Hyde, who eventually pulled through in the hospital, said he was initially confused about the day's events when he noticed that his pants had been cut from his body.
But he was absolutely grateful when he found out about the ladies' lifesaving efforts.
"If it wasn't for them," he said, "I wouldn't be here."