Funeral Director Revives Crash Victim

Many people are good Samaritans and lots of people know CPR. This story seems notable because of the profession of one of the parties involved. I  hadn’t considered the prejudices that members of that profession face, but there must be many.

Steve Langeland, Funeral Director

Funeral director helps revive Holland man
WZZM 13 ONLINE  |  Phil Dawson  |  2/12/09

PARK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WZZM) – His heart stopped beating, he couldn’t breathe and when he lost consciousness his pickup swerved into a mailbox.

But medics say it was a lucky day for 69 year old Paul Edelman of Holland.

“Literally he just died and came back,” says AMR-West Michigan Operations Manager Tim Webb.

Medics say most people don’t get a second chance after cardiac arrest, but a lucky sequence of events helped revive Paul Edelman. Funeral director Steve Langeland was driving by and stopped to offer assistance.

He performed C.P.R. “I don’t feel like I did anything special,” says Langeland. “I just stopped and helped someone who needed some help.”

Then Langeland looked up and saw an ambulance coming down Lakewood Blvd. He jumped up and flagged down the ambulance and briefed the medic, who was not aware of the emergency

“He got out and I explained the situation,” says Langeland.

The C.P.R by Langeland and a pair of shocks from the medic’s defibrillator restarted the patient’s heart and he began breathing.

“You could hear it,” says Langeland. “A very loud gasp of breath. You could see his chest rising. It was pretty amazing.”

“It’s a great feeling,” says medic Tim Webb. “It’s why we do this profession. To get into that situation to be able to help that way. That’s what we train so hard for.”

Medics say immediate CPR is crucial for patients in cardiac arrest. His wife says Paul Edelman is doing much better.

Doctors are deciding what he needs to keep his heartbeat regular. She says the family is very grateful to everyone who helped bring her husband back to life.

“Everything fell perfectly into place,” says Webb. “It was good fortune.”

“It’s something I’m never going to forget,” says Langeland.