Retired Long Island firefighter meets the good Samaritans who saved his life: I died at that time
It was a real heart stopper.A former Long Island volunteer firefighter got the chance Monday to publicly thank the good Samaritans who revived him from a nearly fatal cardiac arrest.Hauppauge resident Tommy Norchi, 69, had just delivered a fiery speech at a Suffolk County’s H.Lee Dennison Building in January, urging county lawmakers to rebuild a local dam before he sat down — and promptly blacked out.The Samaritans jumped in to bring him back from the brink.“He was gray, eyes rolling back, completely unresponsive,” Carol Cherwinski, a recently retired nurse in the right place at the right time, told The Post.“I remember thinking ‘I guess [my job] isn’t over yet … to the day I die I’ll be doing this,” laughed the Smithtown resident who, by a miracle, specialized in cardiology. Norchi returned to the municipal building for an event honoring the team who saved his life while raising awareness for first aid training during National CPR and AED Awareness Week.
“I came here a month later.There were still feathers from my vest on the floor that they cut open…I died at that time,” Norchi said.“I don’t remember anything, but they said it was a great speech,” joked Norchi, now living life to the fullest with his grandson Jack and lots of time on the water to fish.A multitude of people like Cherwinski rushed to help Norchi once he slumped and appeared to be on the verge of death.“He might not have made it,” she said.Mike Martino and Brian Monahan of County Executive Ed Romaine’s office ran to get an AED and call 911 for an ambulance while two others, Brian Mahon and Shawn Viniotis, were credited for vital and rapid actions.Tom Gulbransen, who was running the public forum, “put the microphone down and got to work” with Cherwinski and others to start chest compressions and defibrillation in the meeting room.“We had enough oxygen flowing by the time [first responders] got there,” said Gulbransen, chair of the Suffolk County Counc...