By Andrew Coen
Jill Seltzer and her son Brandon were eating lunch at Mother Kelly's Pizzeria & Restaurant in Cedarhurst at around 1 p.m. on Feb. 14 when the boy, who had a temperature of 105 degrees, began suffering a seizure and choking on his food. Joe Fitzgerald, a commissioner of the Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department, and his friend Steve Collins, a retired New York City police lieutenant, both of whom happened to be sitting at the next table, immediately sprang into action.
While Collins grabbed the boy and performed the Heimlich maneuver, Fitzgerald, a 27-year member of the fire department, called fire headquarters on Central Avenue to alert an EMT, Gary Benedict, who was on duty at the time. Benedict quickly made the short trip to the Italian restaurant in an ambulance and, accompanied by another EMT, carried the boy into the ambulance, where they dislodged the food.
"He was as white as a ghost in that ambulance," said Jill Seltzer. "It was very scary."
Brandon was transferred to St. John's Episcopal Hospital in Far Rockaway, where he stayed for two days before being released. "Thank God [Fitzgerald and Collins] were there, because they basically took over the situation," said Seltzer. "All of them were just so incredible."
A few days after Brandon was released from the hospital, Fitzgerald and other Lawrence-Cedarhurst firefighters visited him at his Lynbrook home and were relieved to see him healthy. "He was completely different than he was that day," said Fitzgerald. "He was like a normal 2-year-old."
"It was nice to be able to thank [the firefighters] and see them in a calm situation," said Seltzer.
Besides the firefighters and EMTs, Seltzer was also thankful for her pediatrician, Dr. Mitch Weiler, who, as soon as he heard the news of Brandon's seizure, raced from his Cedarhurst office to the scene. "He ran out of the office and got to Mother Kelly's two seconds after the ambulance arrived," said Seltzer.
Fitzgerald credited a program started by firefighter Louis Lanzilotta nine years ago that ensures that a paid EMT is on duty at Lawrence-Cedarhurst Fire Department headquarters from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. "I made sure to call [Lanzilotta] and give him an assist [in saving the boy's life]," said Fitzgerald. "[The paid EMT program] helped save the kid."
Comments about this story? acoen@liherald.com or 516-569-4000 ext. 210.
