Jim Doyle saves man's life at Sam's Superstore in Great Falls on Friday, June 18, 2023
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If you've lived in Blaine County, even for a few years, you are probably familiar with Jim Doyle from his work at the Blaine County Courthouse or for more than 31 years as a member of Blaine County Emergency Medical Service. Jim's current level is Advanced Emergency Medical Technician. While on duty Jim has gone on 100's of Ambulance runs serving Blaine County, but on a Friday afternoon back on June 16, Jim found himself in an all too familiar position, just a whole different location.
Jim and his wife Tammy had appointments in Great Falls June 15 and 16 and while in Great Falls they decided some shopping was in order as well. Friday afternoon as Jim was leaving the store Tammy motioned to him that there was a man on the ground down by the Pharmacy and the bathroom, "As soon as I got to the gentleman, I immediately started doing compressions on his chest," said Doyle.
Shortly thereafter a store employee brought Jim an AED, "I grabbed the AED, got him hooked up and shocked him once, then returned to giving him chest compressions. The Great Falls Emergency Medical Service's team arrived and hooked up their Heart Monitor and the patient immediately showed a pulse with some spontaneous breathing.
The Great Falls EMS loaded the man up and they hauled him to the hospital. Jim wasn't sure of the outcome of the man as to whether he lived or not. On June 23 Jim got a call from the man's wife where he learned that he had lived, "She said I saved her Husband's life". Soon after Great Falls Fire and Rescue (GFFR) called Jim notifying him of an award they wanted to present to him. "They called and told me the day of the ceremony and sure enough I had another appointment, and we were able to make it work.
The GFFR Facebook Page posted some nice comments about the event, "During the July 18th City Commission Meeting, Fire Chief, Jeremy Jones and Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services, Jeremy Virts had the opportunity to recognize several individuals who responded to recent medical emergencies in our community."
Their comments went on to say, "GFFR recognized Jim Doyle for his ability to assist and respond during a medical emergency while out shopping in the community. Jim displayed fast, confident decision making and was able to provide emergency aid with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) that resulted in successful resuscitation of an individual experiencing cardiac arrest."
Congratulations Jim on receiving a nice award. You are well deserving of it and it's something to be proud of.The people in Blaine County are proud of you. In retrospect I feel it's the wife that didn't lose her husband, or the husband who lived that had the best reward... because Jim was in Sam's at the right time.
