Wednesday, November 5, 2003
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Wednesday, November 5, 2003 |
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Back from the brink Quick response helps Fayetteville man escape death By JOHN MUNFORD Kevin Jackam had no idea about the time bomb ticking inside him until it went off two months ago. He had just returned from a workout at the gym to get ready for work. All of a sudden, he was overcome with weariness and nausea followed by a shortness of breath. A clot had developed in a blood vessel near Jackam’s heart. He passed out. His wife Kathy called 911 and started CPR right away. Doctors later determined Jackam’s chances of surviving were slim: roughly one-tenth of 1 percent. But he’s alive today, with no brain damage typical of those lucky to survive such a fate. Local emergency officials said that was largely due to Kathy starting CPR right away. But when paramedics got to the Jackam’s home in Cottonwood Estates off Ga. Highway 314, things weren’t going so good, said Deputy Chief Allen McCullough of the Fayette County Department of Fire and Emergency Services. “Clinically, he was dead,” McCullough said. Jackam, 35, had his heart shocked back to life 12 times in the 35 minutes the medics spent working on him before sending him to the hospital. Paramedics generally try to stabilize and transport a patient within 10 minutes, but Jackam was a special case who needed more attention in the field, McCullough said. “For one, he was real young,” McCullough said. “We just weren’t going to give up on him.” As EMT John Cannady performed CPR for 35 minutes straight, other paramedics worked to start two IVs to introduce a combination of drugs to revive Jackam. At first, it appeared nothing worked but the last dose of medication seemed to get the job done, McCullough said. “It was finally getting the right combination of drugs and electricity,” McCullough said. “... He actually took a few breaths, and that told us his brain was still working and he was still alive.” Eventually, Jackam was stable enough to transport, and he was airlifted to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. “I had the distinction of being the worst case at Piedmont for a few days,” Jackam said. Kathy was at his bedside, reading scriptures aimed at healing her husband. Once he woke from the coma, sat up and told Kathy something like this: “Don’t worry. It’s not my time. I have things to do. I saw God.” Then he was sedated by medical personnel who worried he would pull out his IVs or the breathing tube that was down his throat. Two weeks later, Jackam was out of the hospital, wearing a special defibrillator vest that could shock his heart back to life automatically if anything were to go wrong. He was the picture of health before the incident. He went to the gym six times a week. A recent physical detected no problems whatsoever. His blood pressure was fine. The rare condition with the blood vessel near his heart was undetected during the physical and likely couldn’t have been found anyway, Jackam said. Jackam’s cardiologist told him a combination of factors saved his life, including his dedication to exercise, which helped his body acclimate to operating in environments with very little oxygen, which is what basically happened to him when the clot formed two months ago. “I was joking with my doctor and told him I had one foot in the grave,” Jackam said. “He told me, ‘No, you had both feet in the grave.” Now Jackam is dedicated to getting the word out about exercising and living healthy. Just walking daily can make a big difference, he said. The incident has also made Jackam’s faith in God even stronger, and he is working to raise money for an automatic external defibrillator at Fayetteville First United Methodist Church where the family attends. He is also preaching the virtues of CPR, and several friends have arranged to take CPR classes. Not discounting God’s role, Jackam is convinced the medics saved his life. “Without a doubt, if it wasn’t for them I wouldn’t be here,” Jackam said. “My wife would be a widow and my sons would grow up without a father.” The medics who helped save Jackam were part of the fire department’s elite rescue team which responds to the worst medical calls and auto accidents. They insist they were just following the book on treating Jackam. McCullough noted that almost 30 paramedics on the fire department have received critical care training, the largest number of any department in metro Atlanta. “It’s just stuff we’re trained to do,” paramedic Jason Crenshaw said of the techniques used on Jackam. EMT Leo Rowan added that when the team had gotten Jackam to the hospital, they felt “good” about his chances for survival. “It was very promising that he was going to make it,” Rowan said. The ordeal has left Jackam with a greater appreciation for the simpler things in life, such as spending time with his sons, Connor, 5, and Collin, 1. Previously, the kids might want to play and he’d shrug them off if there was other work to be done, like paying the bills. But now, “I can pay those bills tomorrow or after they fall asleep,” Jackam said. Jackam also says he feels what he calls a “great peace.” But he quickly reminds the crew that saved him, “Not that I want to die, if you see me again!”
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