by Dennis Dalman
The kind, caring and expert people who rushed to help save a downed man in St. Joseph one June morning were all officially thanked and honored at the Aug. 11 city council meeting.
The crisis began at 7:23 a.m. June 26 just outside the Kwik Trip gas-grocery store in west St. Joseph. After getting out of his vehicle, an Avon man, Bryan Jon Becker, collapsed right on the sidewalk near the store’s front entrance.
People at the scene immediately rushed over to the man. After Becker collapsed outside the store, a Kwik Trip employee, Carla Marklowitz, grabbed her phone and called 911. Shortly after, Amber Wente of St. Joseph stopped at the station. A registered nurse, Wente stops every morning at the St. Joseph Qwik Trip on her way to work at the VA Medical Center. Seeing the collapsed and unresponsive man, she hurried over to him and began doing CPR and mouth-to-mouth breaths to the man as Carla stayed on the phone and relayed constant updates via her 911 call. Wente later called Marklowitz a “hero” for doing what she did.
St. Joseph police officers quickly arrived. Police Chief Dwight Pfannenstein quickly set up a medical oxygen device for rescue breathing. Officers Alexander Lyon and Daniel Pfannenstein prepared the portable automatic defibrillator, with Pfannenstein also helping with oxygen setup. At 7:31 a.m., one defibrillator shock was administered to the man’s chest, and Daniel then took over chest compressions.
Meantime, St. Joseph firefighters arrived and hurried to help with the life-saving efforts. They were Chief Jeff Taufen, Captains Ken Jacobson and Andrew Kremer and firefighters Justin Hunt, Jake Richter and Chris Zetah.
Mayo Ambulance rushed Becker to the CentraCare St. Cloud Hospital where he remained until he made a full recovery. The ambulance personnel were also praised at the council meeting.
The fully-recovered Becker, wife Carin and some of their family members attended the honors meeting at the city council. Some of those who received thanks and praise could not be at the meeting as they had prior commitments.
This is a photo of those who gathered at a thank-you honors ceremony praising those who saved a man’s life in St. Joseph one morning last June. Those honored include St. Joseph police officers and firefighters, citizens who were at the scene of the medical crisis outside the St. Joseph Kwik Trip station and Mayo Ambulance personnel. The others in the photo are family members of the man who survived, Bryan Becker of Avon (in the middle of the second row). The woman to his immediate left is the fast-acting Kwik Trip employee Carla Marklowitz. Becker’s wife, Carin, is the third person from his left in the jean jacket.
