AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-Travis County emergency responders used a shopping cart, a tarp and a lot of ice water to save a man’s life.
- ATCEMS uses makeshift ice bucket to save man
- Had a temperature of 108.2 degrees
- Man is currently recovering in the hospital
The creative rescue happened Tuesday in the Southpark Meadows parking lot near Green Mesquite BBQ. Officials say a man approached the restaurant’s porch just before falling to the ground with a seizure. When first responders arrived, the man’s core body temperature was 108.2 degrees.
Clinical Specialist Kenny Pailes was one of the first to arrive on scene. He said every second counts when dealing with temperatures that high.
“Every minute his temperature stayed above that critical threshold was more brain damage for him,” Pailes said.
Under the direction of his medical director, Pailes and the team determined the patient needed an ice bath as soon as possible. With a critical patient and rush-hour traffic separating the team from the nearest hospital, that bath would have to be given onsite.
As Pailes tended to the patient from the ambulance, the crew rushed to the nearby Sam’s Club to gather the supplies needed to make a makeshift ice bath. Pailes said it’s the type of ingenuity he expects from ATCEMS workers.
“People don’t get to see it in a way that’s as visually striking or doesn’t capture the imagination quite as well as a shopping cart,” Pailes said. “Truth be told we do fantastic stuff like that all the time.”
The man is currently in the hospital recovering from his injuries. Pailes and ATCEMS wants to remind Austinites to take the proper precautions so they don’t end up in the same situation.
“If you know or think somebody is experiencing heat stroke, move them, cool them and call 911,” Pailes said.