TheeBadOne
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http://www.startribune.com/stories/462/3989502.html
Again and again, trooper Goldsmith is a lifesaver
About 8:30 p.m., Jeff Goldsmith, a Minnesota state trooper, got a call that a 14-year-old boy had had a seizure and was choking on a wad of gum.
About a minute later, he arrived at the house in Hutchinson and hurried to where Randy Erickson was on his knees trying to breathe. Then Randy stopped breathing. Seconds later, the 43-year-old trooper was performing the Heimlich maneuver and saving a life.
Again.
It later dawned on Goldsmith that the March 22 incident marked the fourth time he had saved a life in his 20-year career.
He was honored Tuesday in Glencoe, Minn., with a ceremony and another lifesaving award, but he acted as if it were nothing special.
"You just feel glad that you can be there at the time that help was needed," he said. "Anybody else would have done the same thing."
Goldsmith is among a handful of troopers who have saved four or five lives.
About five lifesaving awards are given throughout the state each year, said Dale Prokosch, a state trooper who was at the awards ceremony.
The awards are given to state troopers who have rescued people in life-threatening circumstances, said Lt. Scott McConkey, who nominated Goldsmith for his latest lifesaving award and the one he received in 2000.
Goldsmith's first lifesaving award came in 1988 after a worker at a Hutchinson restaurant stopped breathing and he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Two years later, Goldsmith gave mouth-to-mouth to revive an auto accident victim. His third award was in 2000 in a call to another accident. An injured passenger was in a position that had cut off her breathing; he noticed the problem right away and adjusted her head so she could breathe.
Adjusting someone's head, doing mouth-to-mouth and performing the Heimlich are simple procedures, McConkey said. But without them, he said, the situation is "very deadly." That's why he twice nominated Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said that he was honored, again, but that he is just glad he can use his training to help people.
"I was called into that type of work by just the type of person that I am," he said.
He said he draws on his strong Christian faith and on the fact that he knows how precious life is. His wife, Julie, died of cancer two years ago.
At the awards ceremony, Randy Erickson presented his lifesaver with a pin that has the numeral 4. A tape of the 911 call was played, and the ninth-grader dabbed his eyes. He said he is "very thankful" to Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said the scene of Erickson's choking brought back the memory of his 6-year-old daughter, Kathryn, choking on candy two years ago. The candy was dislodged before he had to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
If an emergency call comes again, Goldsmith won't hesitate. "I'm just glad to be able to be in the right place at the right time, and do what I can do," he said.
Again and again, trooper Goldsmith is a lifesaver
About 8:30 p.m., Jeff Goldsmith, a Minnesota state trooper, got a call that a 14-year-old boy had had a seizure and was choking on a wad of gum.
About a minute later, he arrived at the house in Hutchinson and hurried to where Randy Erickson was on his knees trying to breathe. Then Randy stopped breathing. Seconds later, the 43-year-old trooper was performing the Heimlich maneuver and saving a life.
Again.
It later dawned on Goldsmith that the March 22 incident marked the fourth time he had saved a life in his 20-year career.
He was honored Tuesday in Glencoe, Minn., with a ceremony and another lifesaving award, but he acted as if it were nothing special.
"You just feel glad that you can be there at the time that help was needed," he said. "Anybody else would have done the same thing."
Goldsmith is among a handful of troopers who have saved four or five lives.
About five lifesaving awards are given throughout the state each year, said Dale Prokosch, a state trooper who was at the awards ceremony.
The awards are given to state troopers who have rescued people in life-threatening circumstances, said Lt. Scott McConkey, who nominated Goldsmith for his latest lifesaving award and the one he received in 2000.
Goldsmith's first lifesaving award came in 1988 after a worker at a Hutchinson restaurant stopped breathing and he performed mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Two years later, Goldsmith gave mouth-to-mouth to revive an auto accident victim. His third award was in 2000 in a call to another accident. An injured passenger was in a position that had cut off her breathing; he noticed the problem right away and adjusted her head so she could breathe.
Adjusting someone's head, doing mouth-to-mouth and performing the Heimlich are simple procedures, McConkey said. But without them, he said, the situation is "very deadly." That's why he twice nominated Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said that he was honored, again, but that he is just glad he can use his training to help people.
"I was called into that type of work by just the type of person that I am," he said.
He said he draws on his strong Christian faith and on the fact that he knows how precious life is. His wife, Julie, died of cancer two years ago.
At the awards ceremony, Randy Erickson presented his lifesaver with a pin that has the numeral 4. A tape of the 911 call was played, and the ninth-grader dabbed his eyes. He said he is "very thankful" to Goldsmith.
Goldsmith said the scene of Erickson's choking brought back the memory of his 6-year-old daughter, Kathryn, choking on candy two years ago. The candy was dislodged before he had to perform the Heimlich maneuver.
If an emergency call comes again, Goldsmith won't hesitate. "I'm just glad to be able to be in the right place at the right time, and do what I can do," he said.
