“When it happened, I was kind of in ‘go’ mode,” said the 21-year-old Tyler. “I just had to do whatever I needed to do.”
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Seconds before, Tyler and his father were talking as they worked on the boat. Then Steve, 65, came in contact with a “hot wire.” He removed the wire, which according to a proclamation read Tuesday by Fairfield Mayor Steve Miller, “put himself at great risk.”
Tyler said time flashed by, remembering every second of it as he started to deliver CPR to his father. Lessons from his CPR class five years ago flooded back when Fairfield’s 911 operator, Tracy Brown, gave instructions.
Steve was breathing shallowly when Tyler called 911. Then 3 minutes, 30 seconds into the call his father wasn’t breathing. That’s when Brown told Tyler how to do chest compressions.
“One, two. One, two. One, two,” Tyler said with Brown counting along.
It was 4 minutes after the 911 call when paramedics from Station 32 arrived on scene. Minutes later, University of Cincinnati’s Air Care medical helicopter arrived.
Then time slowed when his father was taken to the hospital, Tyler said.
“Then it seemed like time stood still,” he said. “We were in the waiting room waiting on small updates.”
Many people received proclamations during Tuesday’s city council meeting for their actions on July 27, and Tyler received his own day. Miller proclaimed Oct. 10, 2018, Tyler Tacy Day in the city.
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Steve Tacy doesn’t remember any part of that day. He thanked the more than a dozen men and women who had a hand in saving his life — Brown, who guided Tyler through CPR instructions, the firefighters from Station 32, and Fairfield Police Officer Craig Moore, who secured the landing zone for the Air Care medical team.
Without any part of that team, Fairfield Fire Chief Don Bennett said the outcome likely wouldn’t have been as positive.
“This is a united system that without one of the components, the outcome would not have been,” he said.
Especially for Tyler, the chief said.
“An individual that engages a patient makes a significant difference in the outcome,” Bennett said. “His willingness to engage the patient that day and the individual suffering the electrocution made all the difference in the world.”
Steve was lighthearted and sincere in his appreciation to the men and women Tuesday night. He’s fully aware he could have died that day.
“Without all you guys, I apparently wouldn’t be here,” said Steve, who doesn’t remember any part of that day, even before the electrocution. “That whole day was a little fuzzy. I don’t remember that morning.”
He woke up four days after being in the intensive care unit at University of Cincinnati Hospital.
“My wife, the kids, they had the hard part,” Steve Tacy said. “They get to see me in ICU hooked up to a ventilator for three days.”
He thanked God for his full recovery, and didn’t suffer any ill effects.
“It’s still kind of like, ‘Wow. That really happen,’” he said.
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