NYU Staffers Save 20 Babies During Hurricane Sandy; Meet One of the Hero Nurses
NYU Langone Medical Center nurse Margot Condon appeared on "Anderson Live" to talk about the scary situation at the hospital during Hurricane Sandy.
Condon, an ICU nurse, walked newborn babies down the stairs along with fellow doctors and nurses. Four of these babies relied on respirators to breathe, and with no power to run the respirators, each baby was carried down nine flights of stairs while Condon manually squeezed a bag to deliver air to the babies' tiny lungs.
The superstorm caused a power outage, which shut off the lights, respirators, machines and elevators in the hospital. The heroic staff of 1,000 members slowly evacuated the 20 babies and other patients down the stairs.
The hospital, which usually treats about 800 patients, discharged hundreds over the weekend in anticipation of the impending storm.
Comments
Applause is definately appropriate for these medical personnel and congrats on a job well done and that trip to Costa Rica!
To Nurse (Margot Condon)you are not a HERO. Yet you were only doing your job and what you love and are passionate about. You are that of an ANGEL. I salute you! Great Job
To all the hard working first responders,you really make a difference.
Houston,Texas resident K Jacquett-Mack
My condolences as well to all the people that has lost a love one.
Why don't the Hospital have a back up power plant. It should be Mandatory what do you thank ? .
DEAR ANDERSON:
FIRSTLY I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU,TO EXPRESS MY FEELING TOWARDS YOUR PROGRAM, IT IS EXCITING AND INTERESTING LESSON,
GO AHEAD. GOD BLESS YOU!
GOD BLESS AMERICA!
A hero is a person who performs extraordinary deeds for the benefit of others - this was not an "ordinary" deed. She and the others are "heroes." We should find the good and praise it without thinking of ourselves. We all want to be recognized for what we do. Kudos to Margot. (PS please forgive my fellow respiratory therapists who have felt forgotten in this report. Not all of us are insecure.)
This is a wonderful story--so good to hear great news and great stories like this in the midst of so much sadness. God bless all the nurses and other staffers who assisted these babies in getting to safety!
dear paul, must be difficult to have such a small heart and brain. ok let me put this in terms u can understand. this nurse along with others choose not to call off and stay home with their own families so they could be out of harms way themselves. they r in resusitating a baby going down the steps in the dark it is impairitive that the tube which she was holding stay in place. or the person doing the bagging cant get air to the infant. ur rite it is her job and theirs however that only makes them heros everyday. hope when u r in a hosp in a life in death situation u r a little more thankful of the staff than u r now.
10 days in Costa Rica is not enough ... i should know... I've been living here for 28 years...she will love it!
ANDERSON TEAM,
The dad's name is Kenny H. and the mom is Emily Bolton Blatt. He's an animal handler at NYU lab and she's a science teacher downtown as well. They all ended up at Cornell Medical center. The premature baby Margot saved, Kenny Jr., is now breathing. The full story has been amazing and should be shared witht he world.
It's a heartwarming story, highlighted against the backdrop of the devastation of Sandy, yet I have to agree with my fellow RTs out there, those that commented, and those who are getting 'thumbs down' because they are speaking out for their own profession . . . for every one of those babies that are intubated and on a ventilator, there is going to be a Respiratory Therapist. So often we are not noticed as we quietly go about our job, and are confused by our patients as just 'another nurse'. There is not one mention in the text about us being included in the staff, but I'm sure RTs were there, instrumental in transporting those tiny patients. We are the experts who the nurses (and doctors) frequently defer to for our opinion on how to best manage the respiratory status on critical patients. In another story out here on Yahoo there is a rundown of medical field jobs that pay well and can be accomplished with an Associate's Degree. RTs are never mentioned, but it is a rewarding career that can be accomplished in two years, and for which there is a high demand. This is not to disparage the nurse in the story, but just to recognize that so often the public has very little idea who respiratory therapists are. I assure you, though, if you find yourself (or your children or your parents/grandparents) in respiratory distress, you will meet us, and we will do our best to help you or your loved ones breathe.
Precious endeavor - those were the sweetest words I've ever seen in a comment. Getting all those babies and patients out of there definitely meets the definition of "precious endeavor". Thank you to everyone who helped save lives that night.
This was a tremendous effort by this nurse and so many many others. I realize some of the babies were born during or immediately before the storm but my question is why didn't they evacuate these tiny patients before Sandy hit?
Ok yes she did a great job but lets not forget everyone else who helped in the hospital i hate it when the new praises only one person it takes a team to do what she did she didnt do it alone SO great job to everyone helping in the hospitals streets ect .. god is with us all
Awesome story that shows what we as healthcare workers go through, even in a time of crisis. To her she probably feels she is no angel, that is part of her job. I am a respiratory therapist and Im sure we were also heavily involved which kindof upset me because we are never mentioned, but thats okay, nice story.
What's the big deal? She did her job! That's what I would expect. It would have been an inflatable story if she HADN'T done her job and infants died as a result.
The point is that, even if the nurses weren't around, SOMEONE would have helped save those babies, like, for instance...the FATHER.