Roommates Rescue Elderly Man Who Collapsed On South Boston Street
BOSTON (CBS) - Two roommates in South Boston were in the right place at the right time when their elderly neighbor collapsed in the street. The rescue was captured on a doorbell camera.
Grace Goodfellow just happened to be looking out of her Bolton Street window when she thought her 89-year-old neighbor slipped. "I assumed he had just fallen and that he was OK," she said.
Goodfellow quickly realized the situation was much more serious. "I brought a blanket out, and rushed over and he was barely responsive," she said.
That's when Goodfellow's instincts kicked in. She works in the emergency department at Boston Medical Center, and knew her neighbor needed help, and fast. "Luckily I was in the right place at the right time," Goodfellow said.
She immediately began assessing her neighbor, looking for a pulse as her roommate Kayla Kaufmann came over to help. She recently graduated from the Tufts School of Medicine physician assistant program. "She had him cradled in her arms," Kaufmann said, "so I just kind of started checking a pulse because he didn't really look that great."
The two then worked in tandem performing CPR until an ambulance arrived. "When Grace got a little tired, I would just take over," Kaufmann said.
When the ambulance crew was preparing to leave for the hospital, the first responders left Kayla and Grace with some hope telling them they were able to regain a heartbeat. At last check, their neighbor was at Tufts Medical Center in critical condition.
The two roommates take some comfort knowing they did all they could to help. Goodfellow said, "We've been praying and hopeful, thinking of his family and loved ones, and we're hoping for the best."
