Crime & Safety
'I Won't Waste This Second Chance': Essex Corrections Staff Saves Life Of Inmate
Inmate William Schultz on Tuesday thanked the Essex County Sheriff's Department officers and medical staff for saving his life.
MIDDLETON, MA — An Essex County House of Correction inmate who went into cardiac arrest last month on Tuesday thanked the officers and medical staff at the Middleton prison for saving his life — vowing "I won't waste this second chance."
The officers and medical staff performed 29 rounds of CPR after officers found William Schultz having a seizure, he became unresponsive and did not have a pulse. The officers and medical staff performed 870 compressions and 58 rescue breaths, while a shock was administered by a defibrillator before Schultz's heart regained a rhythm.
"I really wouldn't be here if I wasn’t here in this place, and if it wasn't for your efforts," an emotional Schultz told the officers. "Don't worry. I won't waste this second chance."
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Schultz was taken to Salem Hospital where he was able to make a full recovery.
"When woke up, the doctors told me what you did and how it saved my life," he said. "I've been grateful from the moment I woke up."
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Sheriff Kevin Coppinger presented letters of recognition to the staff involved in this life-saving effort, including Sgts. Mark Duquette and Isaac Mercer, Officers Anthony Lopez-Sanchez, Kayli Kotchian, Mark Csogi, Michael Palm, and Scott Faessler, and WellPath nurses Elena Shevtsova, Nicole Newman, and David McAuliffe.
"This is a miracle, nothing short of a miracle," Sheriff Coppinger said on Tuesday. "The men and women, it's what they do for a living, but their heart is in their job and they care. They are trained for moments like these, and because of their training they saved this man's life."
Schultz on Tuesday thanked each of the responding personnel individually.
"It's the first time I am hearing the whole story of what happened and I’m just so emotional," Schultz said. "I cannot thank you all enough.
"Thank you for saving my life."
(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)
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