Man Survives Cardiac Arrest, Returns To Serve As EMT In Millburn-Short Hills

MILLBURN, NJ — The following news release comes courtesy of the Millburn-Short Hills Volunteer First Aid Squad. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site.

When Jon Hetherington collapsed at work in 2022, he had no idea he would one day return to emergency medicine as a volunteer EMT. He does not remember the cardiac arrest itself, the first shock, the second, or the 14th. He does not remember the nearly 40 minutes of continuous CPR performed by a rotating group of people who kept working to save his life.

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What he learned later was sobering. His family was told he had about a 5% chance of survival. He survived without major neurological damage and later learned the problem was tied to his heart's electrical system, not blocked arteries or structural damage. Doctors implanted a pacemaker to protect against another episode. The experience left him with a clear understanding of how much depends on the people who respond in the first few minutes of a medical emergency.

Today, Hetherington is a member of the Millburn-Short Hills Volunteer First Aid Squad, the kind of local organization he now credits with giving people a fighting chance in moments when time matters most. A former Army medic, he started by taking a CPR class after his recovery and later continued on to EMT certification. His first shift as a volunteer offered an immediate reminder of how unpredictable the work can be. He helped deliver a baby at 4 a.m.

Hetherington's path from patient to provider is the anchor of a larger story inside the squad, where volunteers come from sharply different backgrounds but arrive with the same sense of purpose. In Millburn-Short Hills, that includes a cardiac arrest survivor, an immigrant physician, a future medical student and a corporate executive who serves as captain. Together, they reflect the kind of volunteer backbone that still supports emergency response in many New Jersey communities.

Among them is Wilson Cabrera, a physician from Ecuador who serves as a crew chief and EMT while rebuilding his professional life in the United States and working toward citizenship. His presence on the squad brings both medical training and the perspective of someone starting over in a new country. It also shows how volunteer EMS can draw people whose experience extends far beyond the traditional image of a local first responder.

Another volunteer, Hannah Ma, is a recent college graduate and prospective medical student who saw the squad as a chance to serve her community while gaining firsthand experience on the front lines of medicine. For someone planning a career in health care, the work offers exposure to patients, pressure and uncertainty that no classroom can fully reproduce. Her story adds another dimension to the squad's makeup and highlights how local EMS can also serve as a training ground for future clinicians.

The demands are significant. Volunteer EMS requires long hours, regular training and a willingness to answer calls alongside full-time work, school and family responsibilities. Yet squads like the one in Millburn-Short Hills remain an important part of local public safety, especially in communities that still rely on volunteers to respond when someone needs urgent care. Hetherington's experience gives that reality a personal face. He is alive because people nearby knew what to do and did not stop.

That broader commitment comes into focus in Captain Kevin Ryan, who balances leadership of the first aid squad with a senior corporate marketing career and family life. Ryan's role speaks to the practical side of volunteer emergency service, from organization and staffing to recruitment and readiness. In one crew, a survivor, a doctor, a student and a captain all answer the same calls. In Essex County, that mix helps explain what volunteer EMS still is at its core: neighbors with different lives and backgrounds choosing to serve when someone else's worst day begins.

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