Twin brothers Andrew and Aaron Dotson got to celebrate their 20-month birthday Saturday thanks to the quick response and actions of Lamar County firefighters and some help from up above. The twins were stricken at their Community House Road home after they found and ingested blood pressure medication belonging to an adult family member. ’They both went limp. I saw my babies’ lives slipping away right in front of my eyes,’ Hope Dotson said. Chief Douglas Matthews and his team got there fast and saved two young lives. ‘It’s really tough when it is kids. We had an ETA on the ambulance of 20 minutes. This is why Lamar County has a first responder program. I don’t think there is any doubt the outcome would have been tragic without our response. The ambulance wouldn’t have been there in time,’ Matthews said. ’If it wasn’t for the firefighters, my boys wouldn’t be here today. Dispatch got the call out fast and the fire department did a wonderful job making sure my kids were taken care of,’ Dotson agreed. EMTs had to do CPR on Andrew who stopped breathing. In the meantime, Dotson’s sister worked desperately to keep Aaron awake so he wouldn’t go unresponsive. Without addressing the patients directly due to HIPAA regulations, Matthews said treating kids with plummeting blood pressure is all about IV fluids. ‘We fill up the vessels to keep the pressure up,’ he said. They also called for help and two lifeflight choppers were prioritized. One was the pediatric chopper from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta where the twins recuperated. Upon arrival at the hospital they were intubated and rushed to intensive care. The helicopters were summoned just before 9 p.m. and landed in a Redbone soybean field where ambulances with the boys awaited. By 5:30 a.m. Thursday, Aaron and Andrew were breathing on their own. Late on Friday, Oct. 18 they returned home. ’I just can’t thank God enough for those firemen and for hearing my prayers and those of everyone else who was calling on His name. This is what you call a miracle,’ Dotson concluded.
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