NEW SALEM — It was a hot day in August 2016. Seventy-four-year-old Barbara Haydocy watched a carpenter working on her neighbor’s house. It was a normal day, and he was a familiar man. She recalled bringing him hot muffins on cold days.
Haydocy looked away, but her eyes were drawn back to the scene a short time later. The man was out of sight, but her neighbor was waving her arms frantically, beckoning Haydocy to come over.
Haydocy went to her neighbor’s garage to find the man, slumped up against the wall, unconscious.
On Friday, Haydocy, now 76, is being honored for performing CPR on the man. The man died from his cardiac arrest, but local authorities commend Haydocy for her effort to resuscitate him.
“Neighbors helping neighbors is so important in these small towns — or really anywhere — and she stepped up,” said Wendell Fire Department Capt. Asa de Roode.
De Roode had taught Haydocy CPR and other potentially life-saving techniques just weeks before at the Swift River School, which hosted New Salem and Wendell’s Senior SAFE, a grant program that provides fire and safety education for senior citizens.
De Roode remembers Haydocy diligently — albeit somewhat awkwardly — participating in the program.
“She was a trooper and also kind of nervous about it,” de Roode said.
“Because she was old, she didn’t know if she could really get down on her knees,” de Roode added. “But she showed me she could do it and she was in this situation and, in this case, she did.”
Talking with the responders on the scene later — Wendell and New Salem share a fire chief and department members — de Roode was pleased to hear a local senior he trained had sprung into action.
“Around here, CPR is really important because, with these longer response times in these communities, if you have someone on the scene who can issue care, it really makes a difference,” said de Roode, explaining that the nearest ambulance to New Salem is typically in Orange.
“These small towns really depend on them. The fire departments are small and they really rely on their citizens,” de Roode said.
De Roode said the Senior SAFE education program has been around since 2014, and Haydocy will become the third person in the area to be honored with its Golden Hero award Friday at 9 a.m. at the Swift River School, 201 Wendell Road, New Salem — the very place Haydocy learned CPR.
Haydocy was previously a teacher at the Swift River School, and de Roode knows many firefighters who had her as a teacher.
“She got the guy down on the floor and had her neighbor counting out the compressions. She was kind of a rock star,” de Roode said. “She is the perfect candidate for a Golden Hero award.”
Reach David McLellan at dmclellan@recorder.com or 413-772-0261, ext. 268.