Tommy Faxon was in the right place at the right time on the morning of June 9. Faxon, owner of Tommy Faxon Excavation, was displaying symptoms of a heart-related emergency while unloading a tanker at Peckham’s PARCO terminal at Union Street in Athens, N.Y.
Scott Pooters, the company’s Liquid Division manager, was nearby as this was happening, along with fellow employees Joe Sisto and Ahron Young. Sisto, alongside an acquaintance of Faxon who works as a Columbia County 911 dispatcher, performed chest compressions while they waited for EMS to arrive.
Pooters hooked Faxon to one of the on-site automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and administered a shock based on instructions from the device. The efforts of this well-trained trio allowed Faxon to be revived twice prior to the arrival of EMS staff – before he was transported to the hospital. Later that day, Peckham received word that Faxon had successfully undergone surgery and was recovering. Because of their in-depth knowledge, Pooters, Sisto and Young had saved a life.
Peckham asked Amalio Jusino, the company’s first aid, CPR and AED trainer to stop by for a post-event briefing. He shared bountiful insight, saying, “Let this resonate, as yesterday in speaking with these gentlemen I felt true appreciation for their commitment to a human life, the focus of their training and the emotion that they expressed. A flawless execution of patient care, and empathy to another human. As Abraham Lincoln once said, ‘Next to creating a life, the finest thing a man can do is save one.’”
Currently, Faxon is home recovering and has informed dispatch that he plans on returning to his business – adding that he “feels great to be alive.”
“Peckham hopes that this story brings attention to our extreme pride knowing that as the result of our investment in training and AEDs, as well as the willingness of our employees, a second life was saved at Peckham Industries,” the company stated. (The first, being ready-mix driver Bobby Ryan, in Shaftsbury, Vt., just more than three years ago.)
“We also hope that this story motivates each Peckham employee and the public to either double down on your commitment to First Aid/CPR/AED training, or to enroll in the next class that’s available,” the company said. “Whether it’s at work, home, or out in public, you likely will experience a medical emergency…will you be ready?”
As Peckham Vice President Bob Yaremko commented, “We all should be so proud of the actions taken by Scott, Joe and others in Athens to save Tommy’s life. It is an incredible outcome due to the training we have done for decades with employees and AED units we have throughout the company.”