Nurse and Doctor Save Life of Philadelphia Eagles Fan In Their Section
Philadelphia is home to many things. The Cheesesteak. The Rocky Statue. Boathouse Row. And the annual Mummers Day Parade on New Year’s Day.
Philadelphia is also home to the Philadelphia Eagles. Current leaders of the NFC East. But last Sunday – the attention wasn’t on the football game. It was on the stands and a local nurse and doctor who helped a fan that had collapsed and stopped breathing during the second quarter.
Nurse Natalie Spencer, was at the game with her son when she saw a man collapse nearby. Security was alerted and she quickly rushed to help the patient. Within minutes, Dr. Vincent Basile, was at the man’s side trying to help.
"The next thing you know, a guy in a pink dress is running up next to me," said Spencer. Dr. Basile, an ER physician from Einstein Medical Center, had participated in the Mummers Day Parade earlier that day and was still wearing the pink dress, face paint, and sunglasses from the event. Dr. Basile participated in the parade with the Cara Liom Wench Brigade.
The Mummers Parade is a unique experience and many outside of Philadelphia may not be aware of what the Wench Brigade entails. The Wench Brigade is the youngest division of the parade and was established in 2003. It is an offshoot of the comic division and there are approximately anywhere from 150 to 1500 costumed members that march in the parade. Each brigade has a theme and is accompanied by a live Brass Band. Members generally wear dresses and bloomers, parasols, and Golder Slippers.
"I said, 'Hey, I know I don't look like it, but I'm an emergency medicine doctor,'" said Basile. Basile and Spencer quickly joined forces to help save the man’s life. After quickly assessing the situation, the injured fan was found to be bleeding and turning blue. He wasn’t talking or breathing.
Dr. Basile instructed Spencer to start compressions and continue them until the AED became available from security while he assessed the bleeding. After performing high-quality CPR for a few minutes, the injured fan’s color came back, and regained consciousness but was confused and still bleeding.
Image: Twitter
"Believe it or not, the first thing to come out of the guy's mouth was he asked what the score of the Eagles game was," said Basile. Unfortunately, the Eagles were not winning the game. "It's the most Philly thing to happen," he said.
The patient was transported to the hospital and listed in stable condition.
“To have a nurse and a doctor and an ER doctor both within rows of him, if he was going to collapse, it happened at the right place,” Spencer said.
Spencer took to social media after the game to explain what happened. She posted more on the Eagles Nation Facebook page:
“I’m the nurse that first responded to the scene. No one would help me get the guy off of his head and on his back until Vincent showed up. He, another man and I got the guy on his back. Vincent checked his carotid pulse and said it was thready, told me to start compressions until they get there with an AED, so I did. I did a round of compressions and then Vincent took over. The man came to and then EMTs showed. I got out of the way once they were on the scene. Does anyone know how the man made out? I know he was sitting up and talking when they carried him out.”
