Nurses have long been the unsung heroes of the healthcare industry, treating patients and helping to heal the sick. And they are usually the first people to step forward during natural disasters and emergency situations.
For Bill Hantzos and Kelley Etheridge, a day of volunteering turned into a day of saving lives when they served in the medical tent at the Boston Marathon in April.
Hantzos and Etheridge both work in the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU) at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. They were among the volunteer nurses and healthcare professionals who helped out after two bombs detonated near the Boston Marathon finish line.
“As nurses, this is not just a job, but our life,” said Hantzos. “We naturally do what we can to help people, no matter where we are.”
When they left Hartford on the morning of April 15 to volunteer in the marathon’s medical tent, Hantzos and Etheridge had no idea their nursing skills would be so vital to making it through the day.
They expected to treat aches and pains, dehydration, blisters and possible muscle tears, the typical ailments suffered by competitors at the end of a race.
Instead, they found themselves immersed in full trauma mode treating mutilations, dismemberments and shrapnel wounds.
Three bystanders died and 264 were treated for injuries at 27 hospitals following the explosions. Etheridge was initially stunned when she heard the blasts.
“It was surreal. You certainly don’t expect something like this to happen,” said Etheridge. “We were scared at first, and felt vulnerable, but our experiences in the ER have taught us how to go into survival mode and face these kinds of situations head-on.”
Hantzos and Etheridge were part of a team that treated and triaged more than 100 patients in less than 30 minutes before the injured were sent to area hospitals for further care.
“There was an elderly woman who I stayed with for what felt like a long time,” said Hantzos. “She was wearing a bright blue down jacket and there were feathers everywhere sticking to the blood that was on her face. I remember taking a wet cloth and trying to clean her face. She had a vacant stare and I kept telling her that I was with her and that she would be alright, to stay with us. We lifted her on a stretcher and she was whisked away. I think about what happened to her and where she is today.”
Hantzos, 33, was born in Hartford and went to high school in South Windsor.
A trip to the emergency room with a friend six years ago sparked Hantzos’ interest in a nursing career.
“While I was in the room, I started talking with the nurse taking care of my friend,” he said. “I felt a strong connection to what was going on and as I stepped out of the room afterwards, a light went off. I had an epiphany of where my life was and where it was going.
“I started volunteering in the emergency room and eventually enrolled in nursing school. The ability of being able to help heal people is very empowering and I don’t know what else I would ever want to do,” said Hantzos.
Hantzos attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where he received two bachelor degrees — including one in nursing. He stayed in Massachusetts for 12 years before moving to Vermont for a year and eventually back to the Hartford region, where he has lived for more than a year.
Etheridge, 26, was born and raised in the Hartford area and attended the University of Connecticut, where she earned her nursing degree. She has worked at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center for nearly four years.
Like Hantzos, Etheridge chose to specialize in the cardiac unit from the get-go.
“I like the challenge of working in the cardiac intensive care unit,” said Etheridge. “Helping people hands-on when they are at their worst is an extraordinary experience and it’s the greatest feeling when you know you’ve made a difference in someone’s life.”
Hantzos agrees.
“The heart is the foundation of the body. This is true in a physiological sense as well as a metaphorical sense,” he said. “The science is fascinating and what we are able to do to help people is amazing.”
Hantzos and Etheridge say their experiences working at St. Francis helped them prepare for the trauma they saw earlier this year. It was Hantzos’ third year volunteering at the Marathon and Etheridge’s first. And both plan to go back for the 118th Marathon.