Milestone: Deputy Don Kitchen presented lifesaving award
Published 1:30 am Wednesday, June 21, 2017
On Dec. 4, 2016, during the late evening hours, Deputy Sheriff Don Kitchen heard PenCom dispatching medics to a nearby residence on Taylor Cutoff Road for a man that was having a heart attack. PenCom was advising the caller, who was the wife of the man, on how to perform cardio-pulmonary resuscitation. Kitchen responded to the residence and found the wife trying to perform CPR on her husband. He told the wife he was here to help her and took over the CPR, providing the chest compressions, and instructed her on how to provide rescue breaths.
Together they continued the CPR for about five minutes until medics arrived, set up their equipment and took over. The medics found that they had a heart rhythm after the heart monitor had been set up and shortly afterwards the man began breathing on his own. The medics told Kitchen that he had done an excellent job with the CPR and because of it the man may survive.
The medics, because of the CPR that was performed, were able to transport the man directly to Bremerton Harrison Hospital for emergency surgery.
Kitchen later received word from the wife that her husband’s breathing tube had been removed and he was on his way to recovery. Her husband had retained his memory and was talking to the family.
On Christmas Eve, Kitchen went to the residence to check on the wife and found that the husband was at home in very good spirits and was very happy to see and visit with the deputy.
On April 22 at the Sheriff’s Annual Awards Banquet, Kitchen was called on stage where Sue Chasen and Larry Buzzell awaited to thank him for saving Buzzell’s life. Buzzell spoke about the event and credited his wife Sue, the dispatcher and Kitchen for his complete recovery.
