Wake Paramedics Save Life In Brunswick County

8/7/2006

Two paramedics vacationing together weren't "off-duty" when Ben Blalock collapsed in a fast-food restaurant on Saturday, July 29, in Shallote, N.C. Larry Barham and Glenn Barham - brothers with 53 years of combined service for Wake County Emergency Medical Services (EMS) - took immediate action to administer cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and send family members to call 911. Blalock, who was also on vacation, is from a community just north of Hillsborough, NC.

Without their usual tools, like heart monitors, medications and medical supplies, the Barham brothers used their hands and their wits to treat Blalock, who had no pulse and wasn't breathing.

"He would open his eyes and raise his head with compressions," said Larry Barham, the younger of the paramedic brothers, "but when we would stop to reassess because of that response, he would deteriorate." He and brother Glenn continued CPR until the Brunswick County EMS and Shallotte Rescue arrived at the scene.

It was determined that Blalock was suffering from cardiac arrest due to a heart attack and, according to the emergency room doctor, would have died
without CPR. Blalock was joking with his children and grandchildren by Monday evening, and his son Keith told the Barham brothers he had no doubt they would have been attending a funeral had the two not been in the restaurant when his father collapsed.

Dr. Brent Myers, Wake EMS Medical Director, stresses the importance of learning and performing CPR when needed. "Employing the updated CPR techniques they use everyday in the streets of Wake County, the Barham brothers were able to achieve excellent blood flow to the heart and brain. Even while the patient was without a heartbeat, he was taking his own breaths due to their excellent technique."

Citizens interested in learning these techniques can get more information by clicking here.

back to current news items