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        Policy UpdatesNewsroomReoptimizationBIOGRAPHIESAF Senior Leaders      Staff Sgt. Christina Begeal, a 22nd Medical Group aerospace medical technician, poses for a photo, Jan. 13, 2016, at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. Begeal saved the life of an individual at a local restaurant who suffered a seizure during his work shift. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Jenna K. Caldwell)Staff Sgt. Christina Begeal, a 22nd Medical Group aerospace medical technician, poses for a photo, Jan. 13, 2016, at McConnell Air Force Base, Kan. Begeal saved the life of an individual at a local restaurant who suffered a seizure during his work shift. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman Jenna K. Caldwell)
                
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Airman’s quick, calm response helps save lifePublished Jan. 20, 2016
                    
                    By Airman Jenna K. Caldwell
                    
                    
                    22nd Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
            **MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. (AFNS) --**It was this past Christmas and the restaurant was nearly empty. Michael Hamilton, a cook, fell to the ground during his shift. The restaurant staff had no medical training and panicked, unsure of what to do.
A waitress remembered speaking with a patron, who had mentioned she was a medic, just minutes before in the lounge area.
The patron was Staff Sgt. Christina Begeal, a 22nd Medical Group aerospace medical technician, who had just happened to be relaxing in the restaurant on her night off.
The waitress rushed to Begeal and brought her into the kitchen. Upon seeing the emergency, Begeal responded immediately, aware that the victim was having a seizure.
"He couldn't talk. He couldn't move," Begeal said. "So I told him, 'If you can hear me, squeeze my hand -- one for yes, two for no,' and he could do that."
She directed the two other staff members to call 911 and to help her care for the victim. They moved the victim to a safer location and treated him for shock, she said. They elevated his legs and put something soft around him. Begeal checked his pulse and his eyes for reaction to light.
At one point, Hamilton stopped breathing and Begeal gave him rescue breaths until he started breathing on his own again. Before paramedics arrived on scene, he came around.
She continued to communicate with him and asked if he had eaten any food recently or was currently on any medication, so she could relay the information to the paramedics.
"When Emergency Medical Services got there, it seemed like he was paralyzed; he was so exhausted from the seizure," Begeal said. "They loaded him in the ambulance and took him to the hospital."
At the hospital, Hamilton was evaluated, treated and released back to work.
"I didn't think what happened that day would have happened so quickly," Hamilton said. "If she hadn't been here, there would have been more questioning, more chaos and less stability."
When Begeal returned to the same restaurant a few weeks later, Hamilton approached her and thanked her for saving his life.
"I was really glad she was there to help because everybody else was frantic," he said. "She stepped up, called the shots and made me feel like everything was going to be OK."
Begeal stressed that basic care provided to a victim in the midst of waiting for paramedics to arrive is crucial and wanted to spread the message.
To emphasize the importance of bystander intervention and self-aid and buddy care, she is coordinating to teach a certified CPR course to the restaurant staff.
Every 22nd Air Refueling Wing Airman is trained in SABC, bystander intervention, basic situational awareness, and many other life-saving lessons. They are trained to employ this knowledge to help individuals during an emergency situation -- anytime and anywhere it may occur.
"If someone needs a helping hand I will be there -- so would any other McConnell Airmen," Begeal said. "The willingness of our Airmen to step up in so many different critical situations is what makes us the wing of choice."McConnell AFB 



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