Thorndale officers receive proclamation

Submitted by Cameron1 on

By David Barkemeyer

Milam County Judge

 

Once in a while something happens that really makes it all worthwhile, makes you glad just to be able to say I knew those guys, was able to shake their hand and admire what they did.

We fuss about property values being raised, our taxes being increased, or worry over budgets and the like. I hear a lot of complaints and sometimes wonder whether it’s worth the effort.

Then Chief Jackson from Thorndale calls me and asks if Commissioner’s Court would do a special proclamation recognizing two of his officers, Michael Moehling and Kurt Kraemer who by quick response and application of life saving skills had recently saved a local citizen’s life.

Well, this past week these two officers along with the man, Keith Fisher, whom they had revived by the use of a defibrillator device and administration of CPR were in court, and we by Commissioner’s Court Proclamation recognized them for this amazing fete.

Mr. Fisher was so appreciative of what they had done to save his life. He explained that he wants to personally do whatever he can to make sure every emergency response vehicle in Thorndale has an AED device, because his heart had completely stopped, and if the officers had not had the device immediately available, he would not have survived.  

This story begins at his home with Mr. Fisher having chest pains and his wife subsequently attempting to drive him to the hospital.  She is driving through Thorndale where she spots the officer’s vehicle and pulls up to ask for assistance.  As he is explaining his situation and asking them to call an ambulance, his heart stops and he goes into cardiac arrest.  As he stated, he was fortunate to be in the right place at the right time when his heart stopped, having these two officers there who knew what to do and had the right equipment immediately available. The officers revived him and were able to return his heart to normal rhythm.  This was quite a story!

We salute Officers Moehling and Kraemer on behalf of Commissioner’s Court and for all the citizens of Milam County. 

 This sort of thing makes all those seemingly huge worries and concerns that I face on behalf of Milam County seem rather trivial.