FORNEY, Texas – 25-year-old James Jenkins and his family attended a National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week appreciation lunch earlier today at Lake Pointe Medical Center to thank the men who saved his life last year after he collapsed at his family's Forney home.
FORNEY, Texas – 25-year-old James Jenkins and his family attended a National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Week appreciation lunch earlier today at Lake Pointe Medical Center to thank the men who saved his life last year after he collapsed at his family's Forney home.
James, then 24, collapsed from cardiac arrest on July 29, 2013, and was unresponsive when his mother, Loretta Jenkins, called 9-1-1. The two were home after returning from work and James was heading outside to play with the family's dog – except he didn't make it to the door before collapsing, Loretta told inForney.com.
“[The dispatchers] talked me through CPR until the paramedics arrived,” said Loretta. East Texas Medical Center Paramedics Todd Clower and Patrick Murphy were first to arrive followed by Forney Fire Department Firefighters Lt. David Lawson, Russell Bannister, Ryan Elder, Conner Green, Steve Chenault, Jason Jacobs, Josh Everett, and Mark Elliot who continued CPR on James.
It would be 15 minutes later before James was resuscitated at Lake Pointe Medical Center in Forney, Texas. James was then taken by air ambulance to UT Southwestern's St. Paul University Hospital in Dallas, Texas, where he recovered – thankful to be alive.
At a young age, James had a pacemaker and defibrillator installed because of a heart condition. Doctors believe the pacemaker and defibrillator did not recognize the specific rhythm of his heart which may have caused him to collapse and, in turn, weren't able to function properly.
Although the members of the Forney Fire Department were awarded Life Saving Awards in April of 2014, James wanted to make sure they heard it from him, “Thank you, for everything y’all did.”
