GUILFORD COUNTY, N.C. — Getting back into the swing of things after vacation is hard, no matter the job.
Imagine throwing in the pressure of saving a life.
Paramedic Nicholas Crawford never knows what type of situation he'll encounter when he pulls out of Fire Station 7 in Greensboro.
"It's been busy. The call volume is high. It's to be expected with a high population in Greensboro and the county," Crawford said. "You take it one call at a time and hope for the best, and do what you're taught in training."
His nearly two years of experience with Guilford EMS prepared him for last week's unexpected work shift.
Fresh off vacation, Crawford said he saved three lives in one week, two of them were in one day.
"The three CPRs were medical calls. I ran two on Wednesday, my first shift back [from vacation]. One was at the beginning of the shift, and the other was near the end of the shift," Crawford said. "I had a good partner each time."
"Three saves in a week is impressive," said Scott Muthersbaugh with Guilford County EMS. "It's not totally unheard of, but it's uncommon."
Muthersbaugh said Guilford County paramedics are about 10% above the national average for CPR saves.
"We average about 34% of the time with a medical call doing CPR," Muthersbaugh said. "A big part is training and we have some advanced tools."
Crawford couldn't get into the nature of his three CPR saves to keep it private but said it is rewarding to know he's helping others get a second chance at life.
"Knowing you saved someone and they can have a normal life and walk up to them and not know they died before and went into cardiac arrest shows you truly make a difference and can make a difference," Crawford said.