Keep Going!
November 3, 2025
A special reunion for an Oregon man and the AMR Multnomah and Clackamas County crew that performed CPR on him for 45 minutes until he regained a pulse
Thanksgiving 2025 will be particularly meaningful for Craig Gleason. That’s because it was around the holiday last year that the Portland, Oregon, resident almost lost his life after suffering cardiac arrest on his way home from the airport.
“I don’t really remember much, so most of what I know was told to me by my cousin, William, who picked me up from Portland International airport after my trip to Florida,” said Gleason. They were only about a mile from the terminal when William saw him “slump down” in his seat. He then immediately pulled his car over, called 911 and put Gleason on a suitable surface as he began CPR on him.
“If it wasn’t for William, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” says Gleason, who also credits the Port of Portland Police and the American Medical Response (AMR) crew that responded to him for saving his life. The crew arrived shortly after William called 911, taking over the CPR effort from him to revive Gleason.
Paramedic Sydney Parent, who has since left AMR after the birth of her child, remembers the event as if it happened yesterday.
“There are some responses you will never forget as an emergency medical services first responder, and this situation is one of them,” says Parent, who adds that the emotional experience of treating Gleason made it all the more powerful when the two met in person in August 2025 during a patient reunion involving Gleason, the crew from Multnomah and Clackamas County AMR and the hospital team that cared for him when he was transferred to them.
“Seeing him in person really brought the closure that I needed,” says Parent, who explains that it took 45 minutes of performing CPR on Gleason before they were able to get a pulse. While the duration of the CPR intervention may seem unusually long, Parent notes that it was consistent with standard EMS procedures. “Medically, based on the estimated time and local protocols regarding ETCO2, he [Gleason] was still showing signs of life,” she says.
ETCO2 means end-tidal carbon dioxide, which is the concentration of carbon dioxide measured at the end of an exhaled breath. It's a non-invasive measurement used in healthcare to assess a patient's ventilation or how well they are breathing, perfusion (how well blood is circulating) and metabolism.
But for Parent, it wasn’t just the “science” that supported her decision to continue CPR on Gleason. She says she just had a gut feeling that she had to stay the course.
“On a personal level, some part of me said to ‘keep going.’ I owed it to Craig to keep going to give him the most optimal chance of survival,” says Parent.
And Gleason is glad she did.
Today, while he still has a few medical issues that he’s dealing with regarding the condition of his heart, he’s doing well and has returned to work. During the reunion with Parent, the other AMR crew members and hospital staff, Gleason gave them “rocket launch” pins, signifying his love for all things space — one of the reasons why he was in Florida last year as part of a visit to the Kennedy Space Center. He hopes the pins remind them of the life they saved —his life — all because they didn’t give up and were determined to “keep going.”
“I don’t really remember much, so most of what I know was told to me by my cousin, William, who picked me up from Portland International airport after my trip to Florida,” said Gleason. They were only about a mile from the terminal when William saw him “slump down” in his seat. He then immediately pulled his car over, called 911 and put Gleason on a suitable surface as he began CPR on him.
“If it wasn’t for William, I probably wouldn’t be here today,” says Gleason, who also credits the Port of Portland Police and the American Medical Response (AMR) crew that responded to him for saving his life. The crew arrived shortly after William called 911, taking over the CPR effort from him to revive Gleason.
Paramedic Sydney Parent, who has since left AMR after the birth of her child, remembers the event as if it happened yesterday.
“There are some responses you will never forget as an emergency medical services first responder, and this situation is one of them,” says Parent, who adds that the emotional experience of treating Gleason made it all the more powerful when the two met in person in August 2025 during a patient reunion involving Gleason, the crew from Multnomah and Clackamas County AMR and the hospital team that cared for him when he was transferred to them.
“Seeing him in person really brought the closure that I needed,” says Parent, who explains that it took 45 minutes of performing CPR on Gleason before they were able to get a pulse. While the duration of the CPR intervention may seem unusually long, Parent notes that it was consistent with standard EMS procedures. “Medically, based on the estimated time and local protocols regarding ETCO2, he [Gleason] was still showing signs of life,” she says.
ETCO2 means end-tidal carbon dioxide, which is the concentration of carbon dioxide measured at the end of an exhaled breath. It's a non-invasive measurement used in healthcare to assess a patient's ventilation or how well they are breathing, perfusion (how well blood is circulating) and metabolism.
But for Parent, it wasn’t just the “science” that supported her decision to continue CPR on Gleason. She says she just had a gut feeling that she had to stay the course.
“On a personal level, some part of me said to ‘keep going.’ I owed it to Craig to keep going to give him the most optimal chance of survival,” says Parent.
And Gleason is glad she did.
Today, while he still has a few medical issues that he’s dealing with regarding the condition of his heart, he’s doing well and has returned to work. During the reunion with Parent, the other AMR crew members and hospital staff, Gleason gave them “rocket launch” pins, signifying his love for all things space — one of the reasons why he was in Florida last year as part of a visit to the Kennedy Space Center. He hopes the pins remind them of the life they saved —his life — all because they didn’t give up and were determined to “keep going.”
