Saywell, Blue Crab Key raise funds for Fire Department
At about 9 p.m., Wednesday Jan. 20, Jim Saywell, a resident of Blue Crab Key, dialed 911. “After 29 years as a firefighter it was the first time in my life I dialed 911,” Saywell said. “In just a few minutes Pine Island Fire and the Lee County EMS arrived. As a team, they performed professionally and swiftly to determine that I was having a heart attack. They immediately prepared me and then transported me to HealthPark Medical Center”
Saywell had been a professional firefighter/paramedic in Euclid, Ohio, for 29 years and responded to all kinds of calls.
“All of us worked hard to stay in shape,” Saywell said. “And I’ve always liked the outdoors. On the day of my heart attack, I spent about 5 hours kayaking and then afterwards I swam a half mile in the pool. Then I went to Bible study, came home and settled down to watch ‘The Shootist’ starring John Wayne.”
That was when Saywell began experiencing some chest “discomfort.”
“Naturally, like most guys, I waited, took an aspirin and hoped it would go away,” Saywell said. “It didn’t it only got worse. So I called my wife, who was away at the time, told her the symptoms and that I thought I might be having a heart attack. That’s when I dialed 911.”
“I can’t tell you how professional those guys were,” Saywell said. “They did a really spectacular job taking care of me and transporting me to the hospital. My 12-lead EKG was sent and I was treated on the way to HealthPark. Teams were waiting in the emergency room and the Cardiac Cath lab. I had had a serious heart attack and a stent was placed in a blocked artery.”
Once Saywell was back home, he decided that thanking the department wasn’t enough. The 7th annual Blue Crab Key Trout Tournament was coming up and Saywell was determined to “assist” the Fire Department in some way.
“When I was a firefighter, we used to say we always had to fight for increased salaries but we never had to fight for the equipment we needed. This department needs equipment and I decided to at least get the ball rolling.”
Saywell managed to raise $1,125 by selling 50/50 tickets at the tournament.
“When I started in the fire service, we had a Fire Service Training Manual called the ‘Black Book,'” Saywell said. “There was a phrase in there that said ‘Only the finest is good enough for the fire service’ and that phrase sticks with me today. This department on Pine Island is constantly repairing old, outdated equipment. We need to do what we can to see that they have ‘the ‘finest’ equipment and remember they are there for us.”