Hartford
Joshua Varela, 20, appeared before the Hartford Selectboard in late March and told members about a frightening medical emergency he had experienced exactly 10 years earlier, when he was a fourth-grader doing his best to cope with chronic breathing problems.
“I had been struggling with asthma for as long as I can remember,” he said. “My asthma was so bad that I didn’t participate in sports or any extracurricular activity that might affect it. Asthma attacks and ER visits were a daily routine.”
But on March 29, 2006, an acute asthma attack nearly led to tragedy.
“I don’t recall much of that evening except that I woke up and it felt like I wasn’t able to breathe at all,” Varela said. “My younger brother Robert helped me to my mother, and that was the last thing I remember as my body went into anaphylactic shock.”
Varela’s mother, Randee Rule, who works as an administrator for the town, said that when Varela was led into her bedroom that night by his 8-year-old brother, she was terrified.
“It was a very loud, raspy wheeze,” she said. “His lips were blue. We got his nebulizer and started doing treatments, and it didn’t work. His eyes rolled back into his head. His brother started screaming and crying, ‘Josh! Josh!’ ”
Rule said she was caught up in a mother’s worst nightmare.
“I knew CPR, but … I froze,” she said. “I couldn’t — seeing the kids freak out, it was just overwhelming.”
The commotion woke Varela’s sister, Sierra, who called 911.
Varela credited three emergency responders with saving his life: Hartford Fire Department Lt. Norman Mariotti, Fire Marshal Michael Bedard, and James Wheatley, who has since moved on from Hartford to become a captain at the Lebanon Fire Department.
“My family and I have never had the opportunity to officially recognize each of you, and I would like to take this moment to do so now,” Varela said, offering them thanks “from the bottom of my heart.”
Varela’s story was clearly welcome news to the Hartford Selectboard.
“What a great way to start a meeting!” Selectman Alan Johnson said moments after Varela walked out the door.
On April 26, town officials responded by passing an official proclamation establishing the week of May 1 as Emergency Medical Services Week.
The proclamation reads in part that “it is important to fully recognize the scale and scope of all Hartford Fire Department emergency response because it demonstrates so clearly the skill, expertise and proficiency of Hartford’s emergency responders.”
Before the Selectboard voted to make the designation official, Hartford Fire Chief Scott Cooney referenced Varela, saying that without the team’s intervention, it “would have likely resulted in an adverse outcome.”
Varela said his health has significantly improved since the fourth grade.
Rule credits the episode, which landed Varela in the hospital for two weeks, with getting him the medical attention he needed.
While in the hospital, he began a course of treatment that eventually eliminated his chronic breathing problems.
“Part of me is thankful that this happened, because he was finally able to see the specialist that he needed,” she said.
Varela said he has been able to participate in activities that previously taxed his lungs.
“Thanks to these three men and what they did that evening, I was able to go on and play baseball, basketball, play the trumpet in band, participate in school plays, and was selected on numerous occasions to represent Hartford at choral events,” he said.
Rule said that, every March 29, she has commemorated the event with a little at-home celebration.
“The only way I deal with things is humor,” she said. “Every year I made him little cupcakes with skulls a
This year, as Varela prepared for a move to Washington state to live with a friend, he told his mother he’d like to thank the men who saved his life, which led to his appearance before the Selectboard.
Matt Hongoltz-Hetling can be reached at mhonghet@vnews.com or 603-727-3211.