Deputy saves a man's life with Narcan
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
July 2, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/deputy-saves-a-man-s-life-with-narcan/article_fe45079b-53f6-5d48-bc3f-edcf7f073ea7.html
By Kat Russell, Reporter
The Paducah Sun
July 2, 2017
http://www.paducahsun.com/news/local/deputy-saves-a-man-s-life-with-narcan/article_fe45079b-53f6-5d48-bc3f-edcf7f073ea7.html
Just weeks after receiving a gift of several drug overdose kits, the McCracken County Sheriff's Department had its first-ever save last weekend of an overdose victim using Narcan.
Around 6 p.m. June 24, Deputy Byron Sparkman was called to a mobile home on Vasseur Park in Farley regarding a 45-year-old man who had overdosed on fentanyl.
"Basically what he had done was take fentanyl patches — it looked to be about four or five of them rolled up — and started chewing on them," Sparkman said.
"I was the first one on the scene and when I showed up, the front door was open and the man was lying unconscious in a short hallway just inside in the doorway. He wasn't breathing and had a very slight pulse."
At that moment, Sparkman said the training he had recently undergone took over and he quickly grabbed his Narcan kit.
"Narcan is a direct narcotic antagonist," said Dr. Irvin Smith, medical director for Mercy Regional EMS, meaning it blocks and reverses the effects of a narcotic overdose.
The kit, said Deputy Mark Roberts, was among 25 given to the sheriff's department through the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition out of Louisville. The organization provided the kits to multiple first-responder agencies in the Purchase area about three weeks ago and trained representatives on how to administer the drug.
The kits came equipped with doses of Narcan, a brand name of the drug naloxone, and CPR masks that provide barriers for first responders as they perform mouth-to-mask ventilations — or breathe for the patient.
"I gave him 4 milligrams of Narcan in the left nostril and 4 milligrams in the right nostril and started CPR," he said.
It took six minutes or so, Sparkman said, for the Narcan to kick in, gradually stabilizing the man's heartbeat and breathing, but he remained unconscious.
At that point, Sparkman said, EMTs arrived and took over ventilating the man. He and the EMTs decided to move the man into the living room where there was more room to work.
That's when the patient took a brief turn for the worst, Sparkman said.
"He couldn't get a good airway, and we started to lose him again," he said.
Eventually, the deputy said, he and the EMTs managed to get the man stabilized.
"I would say approximately nine to 10 minutes after I gave him the Narcan, he started moving his hands, and it took probably 12 or 13 minutes for his eyes to start to open," he said. "Within 15 minutes of giving him the Narcan, he was sitting up and saying he was fine."
The man was transported to Baptist Health Paducah, where he was treated and released.
Because he came into contact with the man's saliva while placing the ventilation mask over his face, Sparkman also went to the hospital for antibiotics and a full work-up.
"We didn't know if he had any communicable diseases or conditions," Sparkman said, "so I went to the hospital as a precaution."
In his years working in law enforcement, Sparkman said, he's never had a call like that one.
"This is the first time in 11 years that I've actually performed CPR and used Narcan on somebody," he said. "I didn't even know what Narcan was until we got these kits and the training."
Although Sparkman may have saved the man's life that night, he said it was just another day's work.
"I didn't do anything my fellow officers wouldn't have done," he said.
"It's just part of the job. It's what we're trained to do, it's what we're expected to do, and I don't want any special attention or recognition when I was just doing my job."
Sheriff Jon Hayden, who has been with the sheriff's department for some 20 years, said this was the first time he can recall deputies carrying Narcan, let alone utilizing it to save an overdose victim's life.
Hayden said the gifted Narcan kits will serve as a kind of "pilot program," during which the department can evaluate how frequently the kits are used and whether they should be added to the officers' standard gear.
"Any time we're able to save someone's life, that's a good day," Hayden said.
"I'm very proud of Deputy Sparkman and the way he responded. There were several factors that went into this man surviving, but it's clear if Sparkman had not gotten there as quickly as he did and administered the Narcan and started CPR, the victim would have died."
Around 6 p.m. June 24, Deputy Byron Sparkman was called to a mobile home on Vasseur Park in Farley regarding a 45-year-old man who had overdosed on fentanyl.
"Basically what he had done was take fentanyl patches — it looked to be about four or five of them rolled up — and started chewing on them," Sparkman said.
"I was the first one on the scene and when I showed up, the front door was open and the man was lying unconscious in a short hallway just inside in the doorway. He wasn't breathing and had a very slight pulse."
At that moment, Sparkman said the training he had recently undergone took over and he quickly grabbed his Narcan kit.
"Narcan is a direct narcotic antagonist," said Dr. Irvin Smith, medical director for Mercy Regional EMS, meaning it blocks and reverses the effects of a narcotic overdose.
The kit, said Deputy Mark Roberts, was among 25 given to the sheriff's department through the Kentucky Harm Reduction Coalition out of Louisville. The organization provided the kits to multiple first-responder agencies in the Purchase area about three weeks ago and trained representatives on how to administer the drug.
The kits came equipped with doses of Narcan, a brand name of the drug naloxone, and CPR masks that provide barriers for first responders as they perform mouth-to-mask ventilations — or breathe for the patient.
"I gave him 4 milligrams of Narcan in the left nostril and 4 milligrams in the right nostril and started CPR," he said.
It took six minutes or so, Sparkman said, for the Narcan to kick in, gradually stabilizing the man's heartbeat and breathing, but he remained unconscious.
At that point, Sparkman said, EMTs arrived and took over ventilating the man. He and the EMTs decided to move the man into the living room where there was more room to work.
That's when the patient took a brief turn for the worst, Sparkman said.
"He couldn't get a good airway, and we started to lose him again," he said.
Eventually, the deputy said, he and the EMTs managed to get the man stabilized.
"I would say approximately nine to 10 minutes after I gave him the Narcan, he started moving his hands, and it took probably 12 or 13 minutes for his eyes to start to open," he said. "Within 15 minutes of giving him the Narcan, he was sitting up and saying he was fine."
The man was transported to Baptist Health Paducah, where he was treated and released.
Because he came into contact with the man's saliva while placing the ventilation mask over his face, Sparkman also went to the hospital for antibiotics and a full work-up.
"We didn't know if he had any communicable diseases or conditions," Sparkman said, "so I went to the hospital as a precaution."
In his years working in law enforcement, Sparkman said, he's never had a call like that one.
"This is the first time in 11 years that I've actually performed CPR and used Narcan on somebody," he said. "I didn't even know what Narcan was until we got these kits and the training."
Although Sparkman may have saved the man's life that night, he said it was just another day's work.
"I didn't do anything my fellow officers wouldn't have done," he said.
"It's just part of the job. It's what we're trained to do, it's what we're expected to do, and I don't want any special attention or recognition when I was just doing my job."
Sheriff Jon Hayden, who has been with the sheriff's department for some 20 years, said this was the first time he can recall deputies carrying Narcan, let alone utilizing it to save an overdose victim's life.
Hayden said the gifted Narcan kits will serve as a kind of "pilot program," during which the department can evaluate how frequently the kits are used and whether they should be added to the officers' standard gear.
"Any time we're able to save someone's life, that's a good day," Hayden said.
"I'm very proud of Deputy Sparkman and the way he responded. There were several factors that went into this man surviving, but it's clear if Sparkman had not gotten there as quickly as he did and administered the Narcan and started CPR, the victim would have died."
