Local first responders were recognized for saving the life of a longtime Pella resident this summer who suffered from cardiac arrest.
Members of Pella Community Ambulance, the Pella Police Department, and Vermeer Corporation Security received the American Heart Association’s HeartSaver Hero Award Wednesday night at a ceremony.
Recipients included:
Kaci Visser – Pella PD Dispatch
Matt Huston – Pella Police Officer
Shawn Veenstra – Pella Police Officer
Sara Schilling – Pella Ambulance Paramedic
Josh Cheek – Pella Ambulance
Nial Van Wyk – Pella Ambulance
Dan Jennings – Vermeer Security
Patrick Cooper – Vermeer Security
Michael Clark – Vermeer Security
What made the experience unique is resident Kyle Newendorp gave out the awards with Pella Ambulance Director Greg Higginbotham. Newendorp is the man who had his heart stop on June 24th, 2020, as he was pulling into Vermeer Plant 3 for his upcoming shift. The Pella High School and Central College graduate doesn’t remember anything from that day, but he had the chance to personally thank the individuals who saved his life this summer — an opportunity he won’t soon forget.
“For me to stand in the same room with all of those superheroes who came to my rescue, and with that low of a chance of saving my life — and then doing so, and then they get to see what has happened to me, and how much they have changed not only my life, but my family and friends and that I’m back and living. It’s just a really cool experience to thank them.”
Higginbotham says it’s extremely rare for someone in Newendorp’s case to survive — so a fast response is necessary, which is exactly what happened with the work of the Vermeer Security team, Pella Police Department, and Pella Ambulance.
“Every minute there’s a delay in CPR being performed on a pulseless person, their resuscitation chances drop by 10 percent. So according to studies, after ten minutes, if you haven’t started CPR there’s little to no chance of survival. That’s why it’s so important for CPR to be started as soon as a pulseless person is found.”
Hear more from Newendorp about his chance to thank the heroes who saved his life on today’s Let’s Talk Pella.