Trending Topics

Mayo Clinic paramedics save doctor who trained them

Mayo Clinic Ambulance Service medics responded to a heart attack, only to find their former teacher in need

By Bill Carey
EMS1

ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic Emergency Medicine Professor Dr. Matthew Sztajnkrycer suffered a heart attack on Memorial Day after ignoring symptoms.

Sztajnkrycer’s wife, Andrea, called 911 and in a rare moment, the two paramedics who responded to the call were Sztajnkrycer’s former students, NBC News reported.

“‘Doc Matt,’ I said, ‘I know that you want to help with all of this, but know it’s time for you to be a patient,’” Paramedic Manny Quinones said. “This is the biggest opportunity for you to critique what you have been teaching us.”

“When you are really worried you are dying, seeing those familiar faces, that was the first time I knew I was going to be okay,” Sztajnkrycer said.

Sztajnkrycer’s wife recorded the former paramedic students saving the life of their teacher.

“I just kind of knew he was going to want to see pictures of what was going on,” she said.

“While we were transporting him, he asked me if the pads were on him,” Paramedic Justin Carroll said. “That, to me was like, ‘Oh boy’, he as a patient can feel this is bad.”


RELATED | One for the Road: Place defib pads on chest pain patients?


Sztajnkrycer recovered after heart surgery and used his experience to remind others not to ignore warning signs or underestimate their symptoms.

Trending
Dawson County Deputy Jessie Perez had served with the sheriff’s office for eight months; he also served with the O’Donnell Volunteer Fire Department and Lynn County EMS
As agreements near expiration, MEDIC is renegotiating EMS response roles with Charlotte-area fire departments, sparking debate over county funding
Six months after a deal to ease fines, AMR still fails to meet emergency response time goals in Multnomah County
As the busiest department in the county, the Brewster Fire Department responded to 3,000 calls in 2024, with over 2,200 of them for medical emergencies