On August 23, 2007, Joe Ferraro went out to mow his lawn. Though maybe a mundane activity, not for Ferraro, whose lawn is 55 acres large, and whose lawn mower is a tractor.
But when Ferraro, 66, of Hillsdale, hopped off the tractor to take a break, something went horribly wrong.
Boom. Ferraro fell to the ground. Smack. The tractor hit his body. Vroom. The tractor rolled over him. Swoosh. It dragged him through the field. Scream. And nobody heard it.
Minutes later, Ferraro, barely conscious, badly beaten on the ground with several fractures and broken limbs, including his collar bone, ribs, toes, ankles, tibias, collar bone and jaw, thought to do the only thing a person, all alone in a 55 acre field, could do. He called 911.
Somewhere between the dispatcher and the EMS department in Hillsdale, calls were transferred and respondents were assigned to rescue, as Ferraro remained motionless, barely able to blink his eye. But 14 minutes after he was rescued, it was not a Hillsdale EMS respondent who saved Ferraro’s life, he said.
They’re my angels, Ferraro said, referring to two flight respondents from the Colonie EMS Lifeguard Program who transported Ferraro to safety that summer day. 40 minutes from the time Ferraro was injured by the tractor, he arrived at the door of Albany Medical Center.
`They were able to stabilize me and give me a five percent chance of being here today,` said Ferraro at last night’s Town Board meeting, `[It took] 13 surgeons, six procedures and 150 nurses.`
Ferraro was one of many victim’s who stood before the Colonie Town Board at last night’s (Thursday, July 24) Town Board meeting, to urge Supervisor Paula Mahan and the Town Board to reconsider the termination of the EMS Lifeguard program. (See `EMS workers unhappy with Colonie cut https://www.spotlightnews.com/spotlightnews/article.php?article_id=tC1216236158t487e4a7e04e32)
The program’s contract with the Town ends September 1. The Supervisor has decided not to enter into a new contract to continue it. As the result of a resolution introduced at the last Town Board meeting, on Thursday, July 10, a public hearing will be held at 7:05 p.m. at Memorial Town Hall on Thursday, August 14, to further discuss the program’s conclusion.
But tonight, when over 20 EMS respondents attended the meeting holding up yellow signs that read, `The Town Board Will Save Lives By Saving the Flight Medic Program,` they wanted more.
According to Gary Favro, labor union representative for the Colonie EMS department, program participants were requesting that the board delay the conclusion date of the program, which is currently set to September 1. Favro said that he feels the conclusion date is too close to the date of the public hearing, August 14, and that by extending the conclusion date, board members and the supervisor will be able to make a well-informed decision, as opposed to what Favro labeled an `abrupt decision.`
The board entertained public comment, completed the meeting’s agenda, and opened up a second public comment session before the conclusion of the meeting. Favro came to the podium a second time to urge the board to suspend the conclusion date. The meeting was adjourned without the date being suspended.
For more on this story, check back at www.spotlightnews.com, or read the July 30 print edition of the Colonie Spotlight.
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