Walden woman collapses; cop saves her life

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March 23, 2007

By Alexa James

ajames@th-record.com

Times Herald-Record

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../NEWS/703230331

Walden — Right before she collapsed in his arms, in the foyer of Village Hall, on a busy Election Day morning, Carl Ekblom's wife said she felt dizzy.

Carl knows CPR. He had used it before, at car crash scenes, on strangers. But he couldn't think with her on the floor, in his arms. He just couldn't think.

"I was just yelling her name," he said. "Joan! Joan! Joan!"

Village Hall shares a building with the police department. As dispatch called for an ambulance, several officers rushed from the station.

"She's not breathing!" Carl croaked.

Officer Robert "Bobby" Montanaro knelt beside them and felt for a pulse. Nothing.

Bobby, 28, knows CPR. A Marine veteran and three-year member of the force, he's used it before. Once, in '97, a Walden guy had an allergic reaction to some fish. Bobby got a "Lifesaver Award."

As the cop worked and a crowd of voters gathered around, Carl watched as a woman squeezed a rosary into Joan's hands.

A minute passed.

Carl's head was swimming. This was his Joan. His "sunbird." The couple spent summers in Florida, scuba diving and fishing. They spent winters up north. Just got back from a ski trip in Montana. "We were skiing at 8,000 feet," he said. "She was fine."

Another 30 seconds passed. Maybe more, maybe less. The woman with the rosary began reciting the last rites.

Carl just celebrated his "big 6-0." Joan is 62. They bought their house in '75. Five grandkids. She'd put up with him for 30 years. Not like this.

And then there it was. Weak and irregular. A pulse. A heartbeat. Carl watched as Bobby hooked Joan up to an air machine. The ambulance swept her off. Carl followed in the car.

Wednesday, Bobby brought flowers to Joan's room at St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital in Newburgh.

Yesterday, Carl dropped by the police station to give Bobby the latest. "The prognosis is excellent," he says. She has bypass surgery scheduled today at Westchester Medical Center in Valhalla.

He says Joan can't remember Bobby's face, but she said she heard his voice as she came to. "And she didn't see a white light," Carl jokes, "so she thinks she's going to hell, not heaven."

Bobby laughs. "I had nothing to do with that."

"You brought her back," Carl says. "You brought me back."

[Guest partyrock]

Thats a beautiful piece of coverage there. Good job officer Montanaro and good luck Mr and Mrs. Ekblom.

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Nice save!