NEW YORK, NY - An off-duty EMT who was seen on a viral video saving a man's life during the Knicks parade is being hailed a hero.
The EMT, Simone Kelly, 24, of New Jersey, was seen from multiple cell phone camera angles hoisting herself up to a roof of a subway entrance foyer where she performed life saving techniques to a man who partied a little too hard and overdosed at the New York Knicks Championship parade.
Kelly, who volunteers over 60 hours a month as an EMT, immediately recognized what was happening to the man.
“This man was on a slanted surface and was wobbling, swaying and then eventually splayed out like the this,” Kelly said with her head back and her arms spread out, recreating the overdosed man’s body language.
She then quickly approached the man and recognized the symptoms of an opioid overdose: pinpoint pupils and disrupted, shallow breathing.
She was handed and administered a dose of Narcan, then rubbed the man's chest to test any response levels. Kelly eventually revived the man, ultimately saving his life.
But it didn't end after he awoke from unconsciousness.
Those who are suddenly revived after being issued Narcan often wake up confused and sometimes behave bizarrely, especially to those right over them who saved their life.
This case was no different.
The man jumped up from the overdose and immediately tried to snag a kiss from Kelly, who fended him off and didn't appear bothered by the situation.
“I’ve had to deal with it more than I would like to in my profession,” Kelly told media. "A lot of the time, I’ve had to swat the hand away or shut down a conversation that is not going in the direction I wanted it to go in. Or … someone trying to kiss me after I Narcan him."
She added, “I have a shift tonight, I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens again."
New Doors Opened
Kelly has recently sat down with local media and laid out her plans for the future since being thrust into the spotlight from the viral video.
She told The Post that “she has dreams of becoming an emergency psychiatrist with a focus on drug abuse and psychiatric concerns”.
Kelly has been recognized by strangers in the New York City area as the hero who saved a man’s life on a rooftop in the middle of the Knicks championship parade. With the newfound recognition has come new found opportunities, too.
Kelly is currently a student at Drew University and has long dreamed of going to medical school to become a doctor. After this recent life-saving endeavor, which is just one of many, people are stepping up to help her.
“There have been people who are like, ‘Hey, I know someone who works here,’ or, ‘My husband knows a friend,’ ” Kelly said from her New Jersey home. “People are really going through the avenues to help me out.”
“That’s really the only thing that I need personally. With all this attention for something I did medically, let’s get this to the platforms of people who can help me become a doctor!” she added.
Kelly hopes to study addiction, its root causes, and solutions for it. She knows how devastating it can be, especially among the law enforcement and first responder community.
“I do not believe that addiction is a choice,” she said.
We pray she follows her dreams, American lives depend on it.
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Writer and author Eddie Molina has over 25 years of combined LEO and military service. Learn more about his interview articles at www.eddiemolina.com
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