By Shelby Stewart
Staff Writer
Chuck Grarlin has plenty to be thankful this year.
On top of Grarlin’s list is to be alive in 2020 and the emergency medical response of Brandon Fire Department.

“The end of December, New Year’s Eve, I had a heart attack,” said Grarlin.
He was able to call for an ambulance, a choice that would later save his life.
“This is my second heart attack, when I had my first one, my mom drove me to the hospital,” he said. “If she would have drove me this last one, I’d be dead now.”
Brandon medics arrived on scene to pick him up and take him to the hospital, and upon arrival, Grarlin begun having a seizure as well.
“I remember talking to them, it gets kind of blurred, because when you have a seizure you remember a little before or after,” said Grarlin. “But the medic said he looked at me when he was getting ready to transfer me to the hospital, and asked if I was feeling okay, and I don’t remember, but I said no,” he said. At that point was when Grarlin had a seizure with the medics nearby.

After being transferred to the hospital, the medics were talking to a doctor when Grarlin’s heart stopped, not even a minute after arriving at the hospital.
“My heart stopped for 20 minutes,” he said. “The doctors said when someone’s heart stops for that long, they usually have problems.”
On Feb. 7, Grarlin went to Brandon Fire Department station two on Sashabaw Road to thank the two medics who he says saved his life, Mike Ohlert and Darren Montreuil.
“I was just so glad they got me to the hospital,” he said. “I don’t think they get enough credit that they should get. They’re unsung heroes. That’s just their job, it’s just a great thing they’re out there doing.”