FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A South Florida man is thanking the first responders who saved his life.
Steven Livingston, 20, was found lying in the middle of the road after a violent crash, and crews on scene performed a blood transfusion right there on the spot.
It happened on March 17 in Fort Lauderdale.
“It was extremely, extremely challenging for our crews,” said Fort Lauderdale Fire Chief Stephen Gollan.
Fort Lauderdale and BSFR medics managed to pull the victim out of his vehicle after he was trapped during the crash.
“We were working on him and against time, because he’s actively bleeding out through various injuries that he has,” said said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Capt. Jennifer Ariola.
Doctors said that the blood transfusion that Ariola helped perform is what saved Livingston’s life.
On Thursday, after months of recovery, he walked to thank the team who saved him.
“My name is Steven Livingston and I just wanted to say thank you to this whole fire crew and the paramedic crew who extracted me from the car quickly and saved my life and got me to the hospital quickly,” he said. “I also wanted to thank Jennifer Ariola for administering me the blood in the ambulance on the way to Broward Health. I’m very grateful and thankful for all these guys and women to help me recover and save my life. Thank you.”
The young man is one of hundreds of victims who’ve benefited from Broward County’s Whole Blood program since its launch in 2020.
“Whole Blood brings a patient that was in hemorrhagic shock to a trauma center with improved vital signs to give those trauma surgeons the time they need to do their life-saving work,” said Dr. James Roach with Broward Health.
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