AW1Ed sends us a link to the Navy Times which tells the story of Lieutenant Commander Erika Schilling, a nurse midwife at Naval Hospital Bremerton, who was on a ferry last month with her sons when she overheard a fellow passenger pleas for help on her phone;
“I just happened to be there and hear that help was needed. I heard her on the phone saying, ‘this is an emergency.’ My ears went up,” Schilling said.
A passenger had slumped over and was not breathing. The man’s heart had stopped.
Schilling, who has 21 years combined experience with Navy Nurse Corps and as a hospital corpsman, rushed to the scene and immediately laid the man on the ground, where she began performing CPR.
A crew member quickly arrived with an Automated External Defibrillator, while Schilling and a fellow passenger alternated performing CPR. In the end, it took 14 minutes and an exhausting effort by Schilling to save the man’s life.
Lieutenant Commander Schilling credits her Navy training for her actions that day.
The man is currently recovering at his home in Spokane. Schilling has since spoken with him to check on his progress.
She was awarded the Life Ring Award on Jan. 18 from Washington State Ferries, usually awarded only to ferry employees.
Comments
31 responses to “Lt. Cmdr. Erika Schilling saving the world”
BZ, Commander!
CPS for 14 minutes?
If it were me there, there would have been *two* heart attack victims.
Good on you Commander.
/IDC SARC would hit it. in the chest and elsewhere.
Performed properly, CPR for 14 minutes is not as exhausting as it may seem, but it is still a long time for the one doing it, hoping to get that hearbeat back.
Good job, Commander Schilling. Thank you for being prepared and stepping up.
Ever since our FDs and medic rigs got Lucas machines, I wonder how I did CPR for more than a couple minutes. Maybe I’m just getting old, but “back in my day” we’d take turns working on people for up to an hour.
If there are more than one rescuer on site, taking turns is wonderful.
And at my current age and fitness level, 15 minutes may actually wear me out, honestly. But I’d expect a solid 30 before anyone in reasonable shape (not me now) got exhausted beyond continuation.
The one time I had to do CPR for real (and before I was trained) I was young, in shape, and I think it was only 10 minutes or so before EMS arrived. Unfortunately she did not make it.
We always rushed to get to do the chest compressions. Anyone who has ever done CPR will understand why.
We have Lucas devices on our ambulances. Got to use one for the first time last week. Saved the patient, too, at least as far as the hospital (we rarely get to find out what happened with a patient after we get them admitted). The real hero, though, was the young bystander who immediately did CPR and continued until we got there.
BZ Indeed! Great work Commander!
She even drove the victim’s wife to the hospital to be with him- a class act. And a Mustang, too.
That’s the kind of officer we need more of!
Looks like she’s a Fleet Marine Force Sailor as well.
Well done, and Semper Fidelis!
Just because I’m a smart-aleck…she’s a Mustang or the car was?
I for one really appreciate the idiots outing themselves. Like David. Saves us all time, thanks!
Good for her. The good stories far outweigh the bad.
Exactly my thoughts when I sent this to Jonn. Time for a positive post.
Good work Lieutenant Commander Erika Schilling! She has to be quite the gal to come up from being a corpsman to a Lieutenant Commander. I did not know the Nav has mid-wives. Are they assigned to the big ships where boys will be boys and the girls will be girls? 😉
If you haven’t been trained to use an AED, I strongly recommend it. Amazingly simple to learn with 15 minutes of training including practice. I took CPR training nearly every year during my career and frequently assisted in the training. It has been interesting to see the changes in the techniques for doing it, which is why I also highly recommend getting CPR training at least every five years.
Kudos to the ferry folks also. I have used the WA State ferry system more times than I can count. Speaking with the crew members about their safety culture has always left me well assured. Other than the rare engine failure taking out a dock, the system has an amazing safety record especially given the idiot drivers they have to deal with. Do not screw up when boarding the ferry; they will chew your ass to no end.
“If you haven’t been trained to use an AED, I strongly recommend it.”
Absolutely! And know where they’re located in the public places you frequent. The machine itself tells you, step by step, how to use it as soon as you press the power button to turn it on.
“I also highly recommend getting CPR training at least every five years.”
I say every two. That’s how long the certification is good for.
It’s pretty much standard with any Red Cross First Aid/CPR Course anymore.
Good job Ma’am!
My wife saved someone’s life once. The victim, a co-worker was alone in her office. As my wife walked by the open door, she looked in and saw the woman standing and looking frantic. My wife asked if she could breathe and the woman shook her head no. The woman’s partially eaten sandwich was on her desk and about to be her last meal. My wife performed the Heimlich and out shot the piece of sandwich that had lodged in the woman’s throat. My wife never mentions it–but I do, and so does her co-worker.
Nice job Doc! Thank you for serving America.
Well done, ma’am!
hi thank goodness no fake seal,ranger,airbourne,sf,delta,force recon
BZ!
…I’d hit it
We knew that. . .
I wish she was my provider at the VA!!
Well done Commander. Damned well done indeed.
Hot damn. Something GOOD to read on here. Well done Ma’am/Doc!
Wow…great job Doc!
Well done! If we could get rid of the political hacks in the military and put more like her in charge we would be better for it.
I have a question. She heard pleas for help on her phone and rushed over to help him? Was it “pleas for help while on her phone”?
I’m not so sure about that. She’s an officer, but she’s an officer because she’s a Nurse Midwife. Medical/Nursing professionals are commissioned officers because of their education and professional skills.
IME and that includes where I work currently, these officers while good within their particular realm of expertise, are often horrible when put in leadership positions. They aren’t trained to be military leaders.