KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Capt. Adrian Mateos was having lunch Oct. 14, 2021, in Kearny, N.J., when he noticed a woman faint and fall to the ground because of a seizure.
Mateos, who was in N.J. supporting Operations Allies Welcome as a member of the New Mexico Air National Guard’s 150th Medical Group, is a licensed emergency medical technician with extensive experience in medical emergency services. Having a child with epilepsy, he knew immediately what to do.
First, he assessed the woman. Noticing she still had food in her mouth, he positioned her on her side to allow it to fall out and clear her airway. Mateos then told the staff to call 911 while obtaining a medical history from her companions.
Mateos said mentally going through and applying checklists allowed him to make rational decisions, which kept her safe as he timed and assisted her through several seizures while waiting for the Kearny Fire Department to arrive.
"I wish to acknowledge the professionalism of Capt. William Crockett and the Kearny Fire Department team," said Mateos. "While not an exercise, the event highlighted the capacity of guardsmen to work jointly with these high-caliber first responder agencies when managing a domestic operation response or a single event."
Mateos passed all relevant information to Fire Department personnel when they arrived. He further provided comfort to the woman by conversing with her in Spanish.
"Adrian identified himself and immediately demonstrated his high level of competency and professionalism in transferring of pertinent information, bedside manner with the patient, and willingness to remain and assist in the care of the patient and as a translator," Crockett said.
"On behalf of my crew,” he said, “I wanted to extend our most sincere gratitude for Adrian's selfless assistance to the patient, our crew, and the entire community of the Town of Kearny, New Jersey."
Mateos said this is what the National Guard trains for.
“Guardsmen contribute to their community and military operations through their unique ability of leveraging experience, training and education we attain from coexisting in both environments. My contribution on that event exemplified what many other Guardsmen would have done.”