Angelique Ditoro Logan

She's Truly His Angel

February 2023 IssueAngeliqueLogan0223

by Jacie Eizabeth Millen
Photography by Lindsay Gifford

Angelique Logan had no clue how fast her life would change within one beat of the human heart. The stress of life or death was thrown into her hands without warning or immediate help.

In November 2021, Angelique finished her nightly routine, climbed into bed, and went to sleep as usual. Dreaming about Savannah’s upcoming Veterans Day parade and walking her sweet pup, Talia, Angelique had the ideal day planned for the following day, which she had off from work. While Talia’ and Angelique’s schedule was full, her husband, Rob, would be at work. He is a dockmaster in Savannah, holding a 100-ton USCG Master Captain’s license.

Rob never made it to bed that night. As she was winding down, he was watching television, relaxing in the big comfy chair almost every man has in their family room. Slightly past 2:00 A.M., Angelique woke up startled; she describes it as a “feeling.” The “feeling” worsened when she realized Rob was not in bed; the two did not add up. She called for Rob, and there was no answer. She got up and went to the family room where Rob was sleeping in the chair. She tried to wake him; after shouting and shaking Rob, she realized he was completely unresponsive.

Happily married for 10 years, the comfortable and happy life Rob and Angelique had built, she feared was coming to a sudden end. Angelique immediately dialed 9-1-1. Each time the call would drop. In fact, six 9-1-1 calls dropped. Six times help could have been on the way. Six moments of extreme desperation. Six times of never giving up and finally, she saw red and blue lights barreling down the street.

“When the first two calls dropped, I immediately somehow got Rob on the floor and started CPR. I tried calling 9-1-1 a third time. When I finally got through, I kept repeating, ‘unresponsive male, need EMT,’ however, the call dropped again. I tried calling different neighbors, in between performing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. None of those calls went through either. I knew it was imperative to keep performing CPR to maintain the blood flow to his vital organs and restore normal heart function,” Angelique said.

“As the first officer pulled up nearly onto my front lawn, and jumped out running towards my open front door, she assessed the situation, looked at Rob, felt for a pulse and then looked at me and shouted, ‘Keep doing CPR!’. She told me that cellular signals were down in the area, and the dispatcher was not able to locate my home. The police officer went outside where I could hear her calling the situation and location into her car radio.

“Finally, after what felt like days, while I continued to perform chest compressions, I could hear sirens and saw lights—more police cars, multiple ambulances, even a fire truck. The feeling of relief and hope I experienced is unforgettable.

“The EMT teams took over not wasting any time pulling out their automated external defibrillator (AED). They delivered a defibrillation shock to restore Rob’s heart rhythm to normal. He was transported to the closest ER, where he had to be defibrillated a second time because he went into cardiac arrest again. By 11:30 A.M. Rob was taken to the Cardiac Catheterization Lab, where the best Cardiologist in our area inserted two stents to clear out a clot.”

A most grateful and proud Angelique continued her tale, “Performing CPR is not a guarantee to prevent death or disability, but it gave Rob a fighting chance to survive. It kept him alive until the experts showed up.

“I have to stress the importance of learning CPR and first aid training from a young age. I was 14 years old, but exposed to it as early as third grade from my mother teaching CPR classes. Children and young adults should be taught CPR and first aid training in school annually. It is important to be trained so you can perform it correctly and possibly save a life. There is no time to search for instructions on your phone. Chances of survival from sudden cardiac arrest diminish by 7 to 10 percent for each minute without immediate CPR or defibrillation. After 10 minutes, resuscitation rarely succeeds.”

While Angelique had to return to work, her parents and Rob’s son, R2 as Angelique calls him, came to the rescue to help their family through this difficult time. When Rob returned to work just two months later, he was welcomed back with open arms by his dockmaster partner, Hal Parsons, who took care of business while Rob was recouping. Life was back in perfect rhythm. Both were back to work, both back to their hobbies, including fishing, hiking, and taking Talia on long walks. Both their lives have been restored, but Rob could have never made it without his persistent, determined, collected, grace-under-pressure Angel.

 

Up Close:

CPR saves lives: According to the American Heart Association, CPR, especially if administered immediately upon cardiac arrest, can double, or triple, a person's chance of survival. About 90 percent of people who experience an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest die.

Sign Up for CPR & First Aid Training: Beaufort Fire Department offers classes in CPR, AED & First Aid. Call 843-525-7055 or contact your local Red Cross. Also, check with Beaufort Me-morial Hospital, Hilton Head Hospital, Coastal Carolina Hospital and the local chapter of the American Heart Association for more available classes.

Queen Talia: Talia is a Husky/Pomeranian mix and has nicknames like “Deavil” because she is a diva and the Devil—they cant decide which she embodies more. Nonetheless, she is the queen of the house and a light in their lives.

Aye, Aye Captain: Angelique has her Captain’s License, too— which required her to take the CPR course yet again and earn another certification in CPR.