Boyes Springs mom reunites with those who helped save her life

Photos by Melania Mahoney
Melissa Curtin was reunited with the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) professionals who saved her life at the Survivors’ Reunion, which took place at the Benziger Family Winery on May 21. The event, hosted by the Sonoma County Paramedic Association (SCPA), brought together seven survivors with many of their rescuers. Nearly two hundred invited guests took part in what was heralded as a “celebration of life.”
On April 10, 2008, Curtin was in the Barking Dog Roasters in Sonoma with her 3-week-old daughter Meriel when she felt what she described as “a ripping pain” in her chest and back. The 34-year-old’s legs were numb, her fingers were tingling, and she became nauseous. Curtin asked the barista to call her husband Michael who was having a business lunch across the street, who called 911. When the EMS arrived, Curtin was in the coffee shop’s bathroom in extreme duress.
Four EMS personal from the City of Sonoma arrived within minutes. Jay Ashe, an engineer paramedic, paramedic Stephen Jones, emergency medical technician Rob Kingsford and Fire Captain Jon Morgan got Curtin onto a stretcher and went to work assessing her condition. Curtin later learned that it was Jones who conducted various tests during the ambulance ride and upgraded her condition to a Code 3.
“I went unconscious as I was being put on the stretcher,” said Curtin, who moved to Boyes Hot Springs with her husband Michael six years ago. “They took me to Kaiser in Santa Rosa where it was determined that I had suffered a full aortic dissection. The staff told my husband that I needed to be airlifted from Kaiser to Stanford for emergency open heart surgery, but that I may not make it through the helicopter ride.”
Aortic dissection happens when the inner layer of the aorta’s artery wall splits open or dissects. The aorta is the major artery that carries blood from the heart to the rest of the body. Pulses of blood get inside the artery wall and under the inner layer, which makes the aorta split further. Men suffer aortic dissections more often than do women, and the peak age of occurrence is 50 to 55 years old. It is rare that a woman under 40 would experience the serious condition.
In Curtin’s case, the dissection went from the ascending arch down the femoral arteries in both her legs and up to the left corata artery in her brain. It was the middle layer of her aorta that tore. Sometimes an aorta will burst and this almost always results in death. The mother of two experienced what most doctors would consider a worst-case scenario.
“During an emergency open heart surgery at Stanford they restored my aorta by placing a tube in, which meant they had to first stop my heart,” said Curtin, who also has a four-year-old son named Logan. “I have recovered very well and was back at work at the cable access channel in Healdsburg five weeks later. My doctor told me what saved my life was my great health and my age.”
The Survivor’s Reunion is the culmination of National EMS Awareness Week, which recognizes the contribution and sacrifice made by the millions of EMS workers who are responsible for saving countless lives in the U.S. In 1993, Kent Coxon, Director of the Sonoma County EMS Agency, and Ken Bradford, Chairmen of SCPA, discussed bringing together survivors and their rescuers, and the event was born.
During the recent event, each survivor received a bouquet of flowers, a plaque with the year of the event, and a photo with their rescuers. The rescuers received certificates of recognition from Congress and California assemblymembers and senators honoring them for their heroic efforts. Radio personality Brent Farris acted as master of ceremonies and told the story of each of the survivors while they were being re-united with their rescuers.
“This was my first Survivors’ Reunion and I was proud to attend with my partner Rob Kingsford who was there with me when we were called to help Melissa.” said Jones, who has worked for the City of Sonoma Fire Department for six years. “The only thing I can compare the experience to is the letter I got from a person who received one of my wife’s organs, which was donated after her death. I saved it for my son who was only two when she died.”
The event also featured many past survivors who are known as Survivor Ambassadors. Each year, they meet and escort the current year’s survivors to the event and act as liaison between survivors and rescuers. Ambassadors are members of the Steering Committee and decide each year which stories will be celebrated during the Survivors’ Reunion. They chose from the many cases that are submitted to SCPA’s Web site.
“I was so excited about the Survivors’ Reunion and just really wanted to thank everyone who helped get me through, including members of the community who were such a great help to me, and this was a great public way to do that,” said a grateful Curtin. “I will become involved with the committee and will myself be an ambassador at next year’s event.”
To submit a story for the next Survivors’ Reunion, go to the Sonoma County Paramedic Association Web site: scpassociation.org.