Saratoga Dispatchers Save Co-Workers Life While Still Taking 911 Calls

Talk about being in the right place at the right time. Cheri Melucci has been a county dispatcher for 32 years according to News 10. On September 17th she was working when suddenly her co-workers had to spring into action to save her life.

Cheri Melucci suffered a heart attack, the kind of heart attack that most people don't survive. She slumped over at her station in full cardiac arrest. Desk Sgt. Kurt Haas was the first to notice and start trying to save her life.

Kurt Haas, who is a CPR instructor, Dispatcher Tom Lundquist, and Communications Director Steven Gordon all rendered aid to Cheri Melucci and started giving her CPR. An ambulance rusher her to the hospital where doctors were actually surprised that she survived. Cheri had 90% blockage in an artery and is a bit of a miracle that she survived.

I have a good friend that went through a similar situation. My friend Bob was actually at the hospital with his wife when he suffered a massive "widowmaker" heart attack. He actually died five times and was shocked something like 13 times. In the end, he survived because he was in the right place at the right time. If my friend Bob hadn't been in the hospital, like Cheri was with a bunch of trained dispatchers, he wouldn't have made it either.

One of the most impressive details in Cheri Melucci's story is that while her co-workers were saving her life, the other county dispatchers continued to take calls and help out others while dealing with an emergency right next to them.

The dispatchers that helped save her life were honored yesterday for their quick action to save Melucci's life.