Doctor in 'Right Place at the Right Time' Saves Life of Age 3 Boy Who Nearly Died
Good doctors improve people’s lives daily — it’s what they do. They go to school for years and work hard on the job so they can help people become healthier or more comfortable.
But those skills don’t just get put on hold during their downtime, and Dr. John Blundell is a recent example of that.
Blundell, who lives in upstate New York, was at the Courtyard by Marriott on Chestnut Ridge Road in Montvale, New Jersey, on Saturday when he realized a young child needed his expertise.
The 3-year-old boy had been in the pool when a family member noticed he was drowning in the shallow end and grabbed him out of the water, the New York Post reported.
According to Montvale Police Chief Joseph Sanfilippo, Blundell performed CPR on the boy and managed to revive him before the first responders even arrived.
It was a blessing that Blundell happened to be near the pool and was able to jump into action so quickly, a fact that was echoed by the police chief.
“[It is] incredibly fortunate that the doctor… was in the right place at the right time,” he told NJ.com.
Blundell, a hospitalist who went to both Poland’s Jagiellonian University Medical College and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, was recognized for his life-saving interventions by his employer, Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center.
“A hero is never off duty,” the Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center posted on Tuesday.
“A staff physician from Niagara Falls Memorial Medical Center is being credited by police with saving the life of a toddler who was drowning in the swimming pool of a hotel in Montvale. NJ. The incident took place Saturday and is recounted in the attached story from today’s New York Post.”
“The physician, Dr. John Blundell, is one of our hospitalists — physicians whose specialty is caring for hospital inpatients.”
The doctor seems to have quite a fan base, as many chimed in to congratulate him for his heroics.
“Doctor Blundell has provided tremendous service in all areas of health,” one person wrote on the medical center’s post. “Way to go Dr.”
“Yep he is always there very friendly too,” another chimed in.
“Amazing!” commented a third. “So glad you were there at the right place and the right time. Awesome PALS skills!”
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