931 AMDS Airman's training saves a life

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Abigail Klein
  • 931st Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
MCCONNELL AIR FORCE BASE, Kan. --  When Senior Airman Camillia Muncheberg recently joined her friends for a summer outing at the Sedgwick County Park Splash Pad, she planned to avoid the heat but instead found herself diving right back into her military medical training.

Muncheberg, a medical technician from the 931st Aerospace Medicine Squadron, was sitting by the splash pad when she noticed her friend frantically motioning to her from across the park to an incapacitated woman near the playground.

As Muncheberg rushed over, she told her friend to call “911” as she attended to the unresponsive women.

“I asked her if she could hear me and started checking for her pulse,” said Muncheberg. “She had a faint pulse that I could feel as I looked over to see if she had any medical bracelets or necklaces.”

Muncheberg, who also has a background as an emergency medical technician, grew more concerned as she continued to get no response from the woman. She also noticed her breathing was very abnormal, as if she was gasping for air. Muncheberg then questioned the woman’s children to try to find out more about her medical history. Unfortunately, they weren’t sure what was going on either.

Muncheberg then noticed the woman’s breathing was decreasing, and she was no longer responding to sternal rubbing. Now feeling no pulse, Muncheberg rolled the woman onto her back, and placed the 911 call on speaker phone so she could speak with the dispatcher while beginning chest compressions. The dispatcher counted out loud to Muncheberg to ensure she got the right amount of compressions

Muncheberg continued the compressions until the Wichita Fire Department arrived and took over the scene. The Wichita Police Department soon followed, and Muncheberg waited with the unresponsive woman’s three young children. She even offered them juice and crackers she had packed for her day at the park.

The woman, who had gone into cardiac arrest, eventually made a full recovery. Muncheberg’s quick actions played a large part in saving the woman’s life, and came as no surprise to those who work with Muncheberg.

“I expected nothing less, and I was so happy for her,” said Senior Master Sgt. Kelley Lundrigan, 931 AMDS superintendent. “At the medical group we sometimes get trapped in a paper work bubble, so to actually see her get to utilize her skills; that was amazing.”

As for Muncheberg, she shows no signs of slowing down with her medical career. She even completed a 10-day deployment with working as part of Tropic Care Kauai 2017 last month.