Pasco County Firefighter Paramedic Patrick Dudkiewicz was honored for saving the lives of two gym-goers in one week at CrossFit Plant City.
After saving the lives of two gym-goers in one week at CrossFit Plant City, Pasco County Firefighter Paramedic Patrick Dudkiewicz was honored for his outstanding performance and quick thinking at a surprise event this week. Both incidents occurred at CrossFit Plant City, where Dudkiewicz was off-duty and working out.
In attendance at the event were the two people he saved- Patti Storch and Richard Mau- whom he hadn’t seen since the two fateful days he performed lifesaving techniques on them.
On May 25, Dudkiewicz sprang into action when Patti Storch suffered a cardiac arrest. He performed CPR and applied an AED while Plant City Fire Rescue arrived to continue care and transport her to South Florida Baptist Hospital.
“Once I recognized the situation and saw she wasn’t breathing, my training kicked in,” said Dudkeiwicz, who almost didn’t go to the gym that morning because he was running late for work. Hs wife encouraged him to go to the gym. “Having the AED on site made a huge difference because I was able to convert her back into a regular sinus rhythm, she was loaded into the ambulance with a blood pressure and a pulse,” he said.
Storch also had to be convinced by her husband to go to the gym that day even though she wasn’t feeling well. She considers it fate that they were both at the gym at the same time. “I’m thankful for these people who choose this profession and for being there when I needed them,” said Storch, who is mostly recovered and is already resuming her exercise regimen.
In a remarkable coincidence, Dudkiewicz found himself in a similar situation on June 1. Once again, he performed CPR on Plant City resident Richard Mau, who went into cardiac arrest at the same gym, leading to another successful Return of Spontaneous Circulation (ROSC) before the arrival of Plant City Fire Rescue. From South Florida Baptist Hospital he was transferred to St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he underwent quintuple bypass surgery.
“My cardiologist told me this was a one in a thousand survival rate so yes, he’s a true hero and saved my life, he’s a real hero,” said Mau, who had lost a significant amount of weight after working out at the gym six days a week for the last four years. “That day God sent me a guardian angel and that guardian angel saved my life and I’m forever indebted to him.”
At the recognition ceremony, Dudkiewicz was awarded a Coin of Character for his actions of doing exceedingly abundantly more, even while off-duty.
“Our firefighters do just that, when everyone is running away they’re running toward and willing to put their life on the line to save lives,” said Plant City Fire Rescue Senior Chaplain Dan Middlebrooks. “This coin simply says in the midst of everything you do we see it, we recognize it and we appreciate it,” he said.
For Dudkiewicz, who worked out side-by-side with Storch and Mau, the gym is family and seing them again was especially poignant. “I know these people, they’re like family and it’s so nice to see the outcome of your efforts,” he said. “I just wanted them to be okay and that’s all I can ask for.”
CrossFit Plant City owner Carol Mate said the gym went more than nine years without an incident. While all her coaches are CPR/AED certified, she was grateful for Dudkiewicz’ quick response, knowledge and training. “We want you to know that you did everything so well and because of you these lives were saved,” she said. “I believe it was God’s design to have Patrick here those days, for us there’s no way we can ever repay him.”
Mate recognized his efforts with a lifetime membership to CrossFit Plant City for him and his wife as long as she owns the gym.
