A native Cazenovia man made headlines in Philadelphia in mid-December when his quick actions saved the life of a man suffering a heart attack in a Philadelphia train station.
Matthew Ryan, a Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) police officer, went to work on Friday night, Dec. 20, like any other work shift. At 12:45 a.m. at the 69th Street Station, a 50- to 60-year old man fell down steps leading to the train platform.
“There were people there that were just standing there; nobody wanted to help,” Ryan, who was unavailable for comment last week, told a local Philadelphia television news reporter. Ryan rushed to the man’s aid, and determined the man seemed to be having a heart attack.
“He wasn’t responding, didn’t have a pulse, his lips had turned blue; he wasn’t breathing. I did a sweep of his airway to see if he was choking, he wasn’t,” Ryan said.
Ryan, on the job only seven months, began performing CPR.
“It was mostly instinct I would guess. You don’t really think about much. You just remember what you’re trained to do and you do it,” he said.
Ryan was immediately hailed as a hero for his life-saving actions, although he would say he was only doing his job.
“We’re not here to be heroes, were here to help people,” he said.
“I’m sure Officer Ryan would say he was just doing his job, and he did a very good job,” SEPTA Lt. Frank O’Brian told WPVI Action News in Philadelphia.
Ryan was born and raised in Cazenovia, as was his wife, Katie McCullough. Both of them still have family in the area, in Cazenovia, New Woodstock, Fenner and Fayetteville.
“Matt told me about that story [of saving the man] maybe day after it happened and showed me the link, and I was blown away,” said Jim Ryan, Matt’s cousin and a current Cazenovia resident. “I’m extremely proud of him.”
To see a video of an interview with Ryan by WPVI Action News in Philadelphia, visit 6abc.com/news/septa-police-officer-saves-heart-attack-victim/445087.
Jason Emerson is editor of the Cazenovia Republican. He can be reached at [email protected].
