Nassau medic's lifesaving actions recognized during National EMS Week

Walter Obrisky lay prone on the driveway of his Wantagh home last June, his heart no longer beating on its own and his face turning a horrifying shade of purple.

But the 61-year-old National Grid employee, in full cardiac arrest, was brought back from the brink of death due to the quick thinking and training of Nassau police Medic Dave Reed, who performed lifesaving rescue techniques on Obrisky until he regained a pulse.

On Wednesday, Obrisky, now fully recovered, was reunited with the man who saved his life 11 months ago, giving Reed a hug at a news conference and helping present him with a certificate from the county on National EMS Day. National EMS Week runs through Saturday.

"If he did not show up and do the lifesaving things he was taught by the Nassau County Ambulance Bureau … I would not be here today," said Obrisky, holding back tears. "My doctors say it's a miracle I am here today because of how severe my blockage was. It was a 100 percent blockage."

Obrisky spent nearly four weeks at Winthrop Hospital, where doctors said he had a 10% chance of recovery and that he likely sustained permanent brain damage.

Doctors inserted a stent in Obrisky's heart and he would spend time on a ventilator to bring down his fever. Even after leaving the hospital, he would spend weeks in outpatient rehabilitation.

Reed, a 14-year veteran of the department based at the 7th Precinct in Massapequa, said he was grateful to see Obrisky's recovery.

"This is why I come to work. To produce outcomes like this," he said. "It's overwhelming to hear it and to experience the gratitude and be able to meet someone like this. That's what we do when we go to work. Every day at work should be like this."

Obrisky was working on his car June 14 when he went into cardiac arrest. A neighbor screamed for Obrisky's wife, Debbie, to call 911. Soon after, Reed and Nassau police officers arrived.

Reed instructed officers to apply the automated CPR machine while he prepared to monitor for defibrillation, Nassau County Executive Laura Curran said at the news conference.

Reed intubated Obrisky, gave him three shocks with the automated external defibrillator, and continued establishing vascular access until he began to breathe on his own in the ambulance, Curran said.

"He just kept going, working on him for more than a half hour," Debbie Obrisky said of Reed's efforts to save her husband's life. "I never thought in a million years that he would come back with a full recovery."

Walter Obrisky said Reed's efforts allowed him to meet his first grandson, Jackson, born this year.

"He never gave up. That's the only reason I am here," he said. "I owe everything to him."

During the pandemic, Nassau police medics responded to 120,000 calls for assistance, including more than 30,000 patients with possible cases of COVID-19, Curran said.

In a statement, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo had praise for the work of medics like Reed.

"This COVID crisis has seen our health care Emergency Medical Services providers perform heroically and often around the clock to ensure that New Yorkers receive swift and compassionate care," Cuomo said.

By Robert Brodsky

robert.brodsky@newsday.com@BrodskyRobert

Robert Brodsky is a breaking news reporter who has worked at Newsday since 2011. He is a Queens College and American University alum.