Public health director, neighbor help save Norwood man’s life with CPR

The family of a Norwood man who collapsed in cardiac arrest last month is thanking the neighbor and public health official who helped save his life with CPR.

Ed Murray was mowing his lawn when he suffered the medical emergency on April 23, while his wife was out of state.

Thankfully, his neighbor, Steve Condon, witnessed the incident from his own backyard across the street and ran to Murray’s aid.

“Ed was up here mowing his lawn, and he was going up doing his last strip of lawn, and he just went over backwards, hit his head on the sidewalk,” Condon said. “I came back over, and the first thing I did was try to wake him up, but I was unsuccessful.”

Condon called for his wife to call 911 and started CPR, recalling training he had learned decades earlier.

As Condon worked on Murray, Stacey Lane, a nurse and Norwood’s Public Health Director, happened to be driving by. Condon’s wife flagged her down, and Lane pulled over and took over.

“I did an assessment, checked – no pulse, not breathing – and started CPR,” Lane said, adding that Murray still was not responsive. “I was very concerned.”

Paramedics quickly arrived, and despite Lane and Condon’s fears, Murray regained a pulse, thanks in part to their early CPR.

Murray was rushed to Good Samaritan Hospital in Brockton, later transferred to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. He had a defibrillator implanted and returned home earlier this month.

“I’m a very fortunate guy to have been lucky enough to have these people help me in a time of need,” Murray told Boston 25 News from his home Monday as he reconnected with both Condon and Lane.

Murray also thanked the paramedics and medical teams at each hospital for their part in saving his life.

Murray’s grateful daughter, Kara Mothes, believes her sister, who died six years ago, played a role in her father’s second chance at life.

“There was definitely an angel watching over us, because it was nothing short of a miracle,” Mothes said. “There were so many things that lined up that day, that it was like, wow. We’re just very grateful.”

Lane said she and the health department are urging everyone to learn CPR, sharing Murray’s story to highlight the importance of this training.

“It saves lives – and Ed’s here to show us all the positive outcome,” Lane said. “The main goal of this is to get everyone to learn CPR, and don’t be afraid. Get right in there and do the chest compressions. You’re not going to hurt the person, because, if you don’t, the outcome is not going to be as good as it turned out here.”

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