Mayor Pearman Gives Rescuers a City Hall 'Thanks'

A visibly moved Mercer Island Jim Pearman publicly thanked a the paramedics, firemen, 911 dispatchers and doctors at a City Council public meeting at last Monday and credited them with saving his life nearly two months ago .

Pearman, City Hall and other councilmembers offered their appreciation by formally recognizing the vital role King County's Medical Emergency Response system — also known as Medic One — in a July 18 statement. An assemblage of NORCOM 911 dispatchers, , Bellevue Fire Department Paramedics, and Overlake Hospital doctors all played a role in getting the Mercer Island Mayor to the hospital in about 30 minutes after he called for help.

"The City of Mercer Island acknowledge and celebrate medical emergency response system," said Pearman. "I will attest to this. It was unbelievable."

Pearman suffered a blockage of a coronary artery on May 31 at 7:45 a.m. as he was driving home from rowing practice in Seattle. He drove 3 miles to reach and called 911 from the lobby's phone. By 7:50 a.m., a Mercer Island EMT team led by acting Lieutenant Barry Collier evaluated the mayor and began basic life support treatment until a Bellevue Medic One Advanced life support ambulance could arrive. He was delivered to the Overlake Hospital Emergency Room in Bellevue at 8:23 a.m., where cardiologists Dr. Jeffrey Fowler and Dr. Gretchen Crittenden implanted two stents in Pearman's heart.

"The first-rate technical skills and extraordinary speed at which these emergency medical professionals responded to Mayor Pearman's heart attack were essential in this life-saving story," said the statement.

The surgery, said Pearman, had restored his heart to normally functioning levels and he felt well enough to rowed 8,000 meters that morning. He personally thanked each of the emergency responders and gave a hug to Mercer Island Fire Chief Chris Tubbs, who gave him a St. Florian medallion — the patron saint of firefighters — to keep him safe.

"I held it when I got my test results back that the surgery was a success," he said.

Other emergency responders recognized include NORCOM 911 employees Dan Castiglione and Chris Anderson; Mercer Island firefighters Alec Munro, Al Erickson and Matt Kennedy; and Bellevue paramedics Tim Adams and John Baxter.