Now eight years later, his health restored, Conway has made it his life’s work to help others. A paid call firefighter in Center Harbor, N.H., the soft-spoken 23-year-old last Friday took the national emergency medical technician exam with the hope that certification as a basic EMT will give him a career boost. He wants to make the transition from call firefighter to full-time first responder.
“As kids, we used to walk down to the fire station with my dad. I loved the big red trucks, the flashing lights, the sirens,’’ Conway said. “But what happened that Christmas, that’s what put me on the right track to what I’m doing today.’’
“My neighbor, John, he helped save my life,’’ said Conway. “I wanted to give back and help someone else.’’
At Melrose-Wakefield Hospital, Conway was later diagnosed with a rare condition called commotio cordis, a disruption of the heart’s electrical system that causes cardiac arrest and, in many cases, sudden death. Between 1996 and 2007, the United States Commotio Cordis Registry in Minneapolis recorded 188 cases nationwide. It most commonly occurs when young male athletes are struck in the chest by a ball. Fewer than 1 in 5 victims survive, according to the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation.
Soon after Conway’s heartbeat was stabilized, he was transferred to Children’s Hospital Boston. Doctors there placed a defibrillator in his chest to prevent another arrhythmia. But in the eight years that have passed since the operation, the defibrillator has not once had to emit electrical pulses to control Conway’s heartbeat.
He would like to one day have the defibrillator removed because the device threatens his dream of becoming a career firefighter. Under guidelines set by the National Fire Protection Association, professional firefighters can’t have any kind of mechanical implant.
