St. Joseph Hospital Brings Patient Back From Brink of Death

On Saturday, Aug. 14 around 11 a.m. on Sinclair Street in Farmingdale, Charles Doyle, 31, was house-sitting for a friend when an event occurred that nearly cost him his life. Doyle was trying to fix something in the pool and fell in. Unfortunately, Doyle doesn’t know how to swim. He was able to scream for help before sinking to the bottom. Nearby neighbors pulled the unconscious man from the pool and called for help. Nassau County Police officers were first on scene, and applied a defibrillator, continuing with CPR. Assistant Chief Patrick Tortoso of the Farmingdale Fire Department was next to arrive, assisting with CPR compressions. Doyle was rushed to St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage. When he arrived at the hospital, he had been in cardiac arrest for 27 minutes. The emergency room team and its chairman, Joseph Bruni, MD, sprang into action with more medication and shocked him again. In addition, they used a new technology, Artic Sun Therapeutic Cooling Device, to preserve brain function. Thanks to the incredible teamwork and professionalism Doyle was pulled back from the brink of death. Just days after his near death experience, Doyle was discharged on Thursday, Aug. 19, in time to celebrate his birthday.