The Chatham Board of Education proudly honored Chatham Middle School nurse Kate Juliano, assistant principal Michael Stead, teacher aide Michael Zwingelberg, and assistant supervisor of transportation Steve Oleynek for their quick thinking and life-saving actions when one of their fellow employees had a severe allergic reaction to a bee sting.
One day this September, Chatham bus driver Darci Hover was about to start her afternoon run when she took a sip from a drink that some bees had gotten into. She was stung twice in her mouth and immediately began having a serious reaction. Her supervisor, Mr. Oleynek, and Mr. Zwingelberg, who is a former NYS Trooper and paramedic, were nearby and heard her call for help. They immediately came to her aid, assessed the situation, and summoned the school nurse and an ambulance. Ms. Juliano quickly arrived and got to work. Mr. Stead also responded to the scene, and by now Hover was vomiting uncontrollably and going in and out of consciousness. He took hold of her and kept her in a seated position so that her airway would not be blocked while Juliano gave her a shot of epinephrine to counteract the allergic reaction. Juliano also located a stinger in Hover’s mouth and removed it with tweezers. By the time the ambulance arrived to rush Hover to the hospital, she was conscious and her condition was improving.
Hover credits the four with saving her life. “They really looked after me,” she said. “They did everything right. They did everything they needed to do when they needed to do it, and for that I am forever grateful.”
She added that medical staff at the hospital also complemented the life-saving care she received from her coworkers and mentioned that when a person with a bee allergy gets stung multiple times in the mouth it can often not end well.
“This heroic story is a testament to the commitment, the determination, and the bravery of our Chatham employees," superintendent Andrew Kourt told Oleynek, Juliano, Stead and Zwingelberg during their recognition at the September 24 Board meeting. "The four of you are fine examples of what it means to be a Panther. On behalf of the Board of Education and the bus driver, we thank you for being our Chatham heroes.”
CBS6 anchor/reporter Julia Dunn recently visited CMS to interview them for an edition of her Positively Upstate series, which aired October 2 during the 6:00 p.m. newscast. You can watch it here...
