STOUGHTON — Gene Faynshteyn and Jeffrey Geloran each have a special reason to be thankful this holiday season, and they are keeping their families close.
On Thursday, Faynshteyn and Geloran reunited with Stoughton first responders. Both survived separate critical medical emergencies thanks to the heroic actions of Stoughton Police officers.
“The survival of these two gentlemen started with the bystanders who acted quickly and is attributed to the quick response from the Stoughton Police Department, the Stoughton Fire Department, and our Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center dispatch,” Chief Donna McNamara said. “These men are here today and able to celebrate the holiday season with their families because of the heroic actions of first responders.”
On Monday, Nov. 25, at approximately 11:20 a.m., Lt. Timothy Hansler, Detective Kevin Lima, and Officers Heather Cheever, Dominic Evangelista, Khang Lam, and Albert Medeiros responded to the area of 470 Washington St. for a report of a driver suffering a medical emergency.
The victim, Faynshteyn, was slumped over and unconscious in the driver’s seat of a vehicle. He was later determined to be in cardiac arrest.
A good Samaritan, Ashley Depina, stopped at the intersection of Washington and Central streets when she noticed Faynshteyn’s vehicle roll through a red light. She noticed other traffic had stopped for the vehicle and witnessed as the car drove onto a curb.
Depina drove toward the vehicle and noticed Faynshteyn slumped over. She gently crashed her car into the victim’s vehicle to disable it and called 911, initiating the emergency response.
Upon arrival, Officer Lam observed Faynshteyn unconscious in the driver’s seat. Officers banged on the window, but Faynshteyn did not respond. Officer Lam attempted to break the window while Officer Cheever retrieved her medical kit.
Lt. Hansler arrived, used a window punch device to break a window, and climbed inside to unlock the doors.
Officer Cheever opened the driver’s door, put the vehicle in park, and removed Faynshteyn from the car. Officer Cheever laid him on the ground, Lt. Hansler administered a sternum rub, and Officer Medeiros attempted additional life-saving measures. Faynshteyn remained unconscious.
Officer Lam then began performing chest compressions while Officer Cheever provided rescue breaths.
“As a supervisor, it was really nice to see,” Lt. Hansler said. “Officer Cheever was doing her job, Officer Lam was doing his job, and I was able to stand back and assess the whole scene. It’s exactly what you want to see during a critical incident.”
The Stoughton Fire Department arrived shortly after and took over advanced care. They used an automated external defibrillator (AED) on Faynshteyn, and he was transported to a local hospital for further treatment.
“This is why we became police officers — to help the public,” Lt. Hansler said. “To have these critical incidents happen so close together and to have these wonderful outcomes, this is exactly why I’m here.”
Doctors told Faynshteyn’s family that he had a “one in a million” chance of survival.
“I’m very happy I’m here. It’s not enough of a thank you to these people who saved my life,” Faynshteyn said. “I’ll never forget this.”
In the second incident on Dec. 6, Officer Michael Connelly was dispatched to FH Peterson Machine Corp, at 143 South St., for a report of an unresponsive person, Geloran, in cardiac arrest.
Holbrook Regional Emergency Communications Center dispatch advised the responding officers that employees were performing CPR and that an AED was in use and delivered a shock.
FH Peterson Machine Corp President Marty Durbin opened Geloran’s airway and started chest compressions while other employees prepared the AED machine. The company has a safety committee and conducts CPR and AED training.
Employees shocked Geloran with the AED. Officer Connelly immediately took over chest compressions until the AED arrived. Officer Connelly delivered the shock and continued chest compressions.
Geloran began taking a breath and began to blink.
“You could tell FH Peterson had a great system and training in place,” Officer Connelly said. “They helped save Jeffrey’s life more than I did.”
Stoughton Fire Department EMTs arrived shortly after and transported Geloran to a local hospital.
“I’m just so grateful. I feel more appreciative than I can express,” Geloran said. “I love these guys for what they did for me. I’ll forever be grateful.”
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