Praise for Some Unsung Heroes : Fast work by paramedics, King/Drew staff keeps teacher alive

Alfredo Perez wasn’t expected to make it after he was shot in the head on a Thursday morning while teaching a class in the library of a South-Central elementary school. The young teacher has made it this far, however, thanks to the swift care provided by a team of paramedics and trauma center doctors and nurses at Martin Luther King Jr./Drew Medical Center in Willowbrook. Public servants like these are sometimes more criticized then praised by taxpayers, but these men and women, who were just doing their jobs, deserve our appreciation--and admiration.

Perez was hit by a stray bullet. He was shot almost two weeks ago, shortly after school started. Someone called 911. Fortunately for the critically wounded teacher, the overburdened lines weren’t busy this time. That call was routed to Fire Station 64, about 10 blocks away from the school, which turned out to be a life-saving proximity.

Within minutes, Paramedics Russel Arentzoff and Robert Lind arrived at the school. Working rapidly, they bandaged the gaping wound that exposed the teacher’s brain tissue, secured his head and neck, lifted him onto a gurney while pumping oxygen into his lungs in an effort to check the swelling of his brain. Quickly, they had Perez in the ambulance.

While the vehicle rolled, paramedics alerted physicians at Martin Luther King, Jr./Drew Medical Center. In the wake of controversy about management and patient care at the county hospital, some might have said “anywhere but there.” But King treats more than 1,000 gunshot victims a year, and the trauma center is in fact nationally recognized for its skills. Better King Hospital than an emergency room where such injuries are rare.

Before the ambulance arrived, Dr. Kenneth Menchion and the rest of the trauma team he heads had rushed to the emergency room and put on surgical gowns, goggles and gloves. They were ready for Perez, who was wheeled in just 18 minutes after the paramedics received the 911 call.

Perez again got fast treatment, in part because the CAT scanner was unoccupied and there were no other trauma patients competing for the hospital’s resources at the time. That would probably not have been the case if the shooting had happened on Thursday night instead of on Thursday morning.

Barely 2 hours and 15 minutes after he was shot, Perez was in surgery. Dr. Taghi Tirgari, the neurosurgeon on call, was operating. So far, the 30-year-old teacher clings to life. He has a chance because he has a strong will, and because some underrated, often unappreciated public servants did their jobs.