HONOLULU (KHON2) — A man who suffered a cardiac arrest while on the job got to meet the heroes who saved his life during a ceremony honoring their quick actions Wednesday morning on Feb. 7.
Bruce Butala was working at a Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation (HART) construction site at the airport back in October when he suffered a cardiac arrest. He has no recollection of what happened that day.
“I’m here because of you people,” stated Butala, pointing to the crowd of first responders. “Thank you so much. I dont know what to say.”
Butala’s coworkers were the first to call 911, locate an automated external defibrillator (AED) and administer CPR while waiting for paramedics.
“It was kine intense at that moment,’ stated HART employee Rodel Lacuesda. “He’s not breathing, he’s out cold, and we just performed what we learned from CPR and how to use the AED. We never [lost] focus on him.”
According to Paramedic Supervisor, Christopher Drazic, Honolulu Emergency Medical Services (EMS) treat cardiac arrest patients commonly, but they don’t always have a good outcome.