Counting our Blessings

I have debated for the last couple days if I would post this but I have decided to because this is part of our story and the fact the Sheriff is still alive is unbelievably amazing!  This email went out to all of the deputies in Marine Operations....

To all Marine Ops personnel:

  

   On Monday 10-17 at 1100 hours, Deputy Ken Francisco arrived at the Dana station for his regular patrol boat shift.  Dep. Hodges spoke to him briefly.  Francisco looked and sounded normal at the time.  The fireboat was already in the field, and Hodges went 10-8, leaving Ken in the station.  At some point while he was there alone, Ken began to suffer a stroke.

     At about 1130, Sally called the Dana station.  The phone rang several times before Francisco picked it up, but his voice was so slurred when he answered that Sally didn’t even recognize it.  When she asked who she was speaking to, he could barely say his own name.  Realizing something was wrong, Sally told him to stay on the line and had Tina pick it up.  Francisco was unable to answer any questions, and appeared to be very disoriented.  Tina immediately told all Dana units to return to the station Code 3, and notified OC Fire.  When our deputies got back to the station, they found Ken in the galley, slumped in his chair with the left side of his body mostly paralyzed.  He was conscious, but having extreme difficulty responding to questions.  Paramedics arrived almost immediately after that, and transported him to Mission Hospital.

  

   ER staff confirmed that Ken had a stroke.  Fortunately, he is in good physical shape, and responded almost immediately to their treatments.  The ER staff said that he’s very lucky he received treatment so quickly, because time is critical in a stroke.  Ken was given “clot-buster” medication, and taken to surgery to remove any remaining bits of the clot.  By the time he was taken to surgery, Ken could already move his left arm and leg the same amount as his right, and was able to speak again.  His fiancée Erin came to the hospital, and his ex-wife was also notified.  Asst. Sheriff Powell, U/S Barnes, and AOCDS all responded as well.  The clot-removal procedure was successful, and as of 1700 hours Ken was in recovery and resting comfortably with his fiancée and family.  Doctors say he is responding extremely well, and the outlook is very good.

        Ken’s good physical condition and the quick response on the part of everyone involved were instrumental in this situation’s happy ending.  But Sally and Tina deserve particular mention.  There’s no way of knowing just how bad it might have been if Ken had gone untreated longer, but one thing is absolutely certain – if not for Sally and Tina’s quick realization that something was very wrong, and the immediate action on their part, the damage to Ken would have been far worse, possibly even permanent.  We all owe them a debt of gratitude.  And OC Fire deserves our thanks as well.  Tina made sure they knew it was a deputy in need of assistance, and their response went beyond Code 3 – it was more like a stampede to get there.  They responded so quickly that our deputies didn’t even have time to administer oxygen before the paramedics arrived.

        At this time, we don’t know how long Ken will remain in the hospital, or when he can receive calls and/or visitors.  We’ll send out updates as soon as they’re available.

Sgt. J. Hollenbeck

Just a few pictures of some of the visitors!

I forgot to get a picture of Tina & Julie, but I will fix that ASAP!

The events in the email above are amazing but what triggered the chain of events was a boater that had come into the Newport station asking a question that Sally the front office gal did not know and because there just happened to be a tour of the Newport station being given to a bunch of Long Beach PD (I think) guys Tina the Newport dispatcher who knew the answer to the question but was busy with the tour could not help.  Wanting to answering the question Sally decided to call over to Dana to find out the answer and thank goodness the Sheriff was sitting at the desk next to the phone and had the strength to pick it up. Also what was not mentioned in this email because it was unknown at the time it was written was that by the grace of God the Orange County Fire Authority was training right around the corner from the Sheriff's station so when the call went out they were at the Sheriff's side within 3 minutes.  The Sheriff was loaded and up and raced to Mission Hospital and in the ER within about 15 minutes which is AMAZING. Once he arrived at the hospital he had a CT Scan to determine if he was indeed having a stoke and where the clot was and within 30 minutes of arriving at the hospital was given a clot busting drug that started working immediately and within a few minutes of receiving the clot buster he was able to talk and move his left side.  The Sheriff then had an angiogram (sp?) to remove the clot from his brain and spent two days in ICU.  He is currently on a the rehab floor to make sure he is strong enough to come home.  

I joked that after we survived September we just might need therapy well now if we survive October we are GOING to need therapy!   

How we got so lucky that day will never be known and the "what if's" that could of happened that go through my mind make me cry but I will never forget the men and women who saved the Sheriff's life that day and if I could hug them and tell them I love them everyday for the rest of my life I would.  

Special shout out to our good friend Julie (and Dave for caring for the their kiddo's so she could be there) who dropped everything to spend all day Monday at the hospital with me, to Ricki for bringing pizza and wine to the hospital for dinner last night, to Tina (lifesaver dispatcher) & Julie who spent last night with me providing an excellent therapy session and to the Orange County Sheriff's Department for making sure that we were all taken care of (their generosity was over the top), I never thought in a million years I would have top brass phone numbers saved in my contacts.