Editors’ Note: This video contains some blood and images that may not be appropriate for some viewers.
After day surgery for varicose veins Monday morning, Stephen Gudreau took what he thought would be a relaxing walk in the sun along Main Street in Mapleton.
Stephen Gudreau rests at home in Mapleton Wednesday, two days after he started losing blood from a surgical wound and lost consciousness in the Mapleton One Stop convenience store. He credits store employees, who called 911 and performed CPR, with saving his life. (Joshua Archer)
But when Gudreau walked inside the Mapleton One Stop convenience store to buy a drink, he almost died.
“I looked down, and I was covered in blood,” Gudreau said Wednesday. “I had a vein that kind of opened up.”
“I thought he spilled something on him,” said Travis Mastro, co-owner of the store. “All of a sudden blood was flowing out of the bottom of his pants. I can’t even explain how much blood he lost.”
Mastro called 911, and employee Carrie Wade helped Gudreau sit down and tried to stem the bleeding as Gudreau lost consciousness.
At one point before the ambulance arrived, Gudreau stopped breathing, Mastro said.
The Mapleton One Stop on Main Street in Mapleton, where employee Carrie Wade used CPR to save customer Stephen Gudreau on Monday afternoon. (Courtesy/Mapleton One Stop)
Mastro and Wade, who spent six years in the Navy and was trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation, laid Gudreau down on the floor. Wade then performed CPR, reviving him after three chest compressions, she recalled Wednesday.
Wade stayed with Gudreau for about 10 minutes before EMTs arrived to rush him to The Aroostook Medical Center in Presque Isle, where his leg was fixed up. He was back home that night.
“I’m doing good actually, thanks to those people,” Gudreau said from home where he was recuperating Wednesday.
“I’m very grateful,” said Gudreau, an employee of Huber Engineered Woods in Easton and a regular at the Mapleton convenience store.
Reflecting on the ordeal, he said he may have “misunderstood what the doctor said to do. He told me I could go home and relax.”
Gudreau has not yet returned to the store but has since spoken with Mastro and Wade by phone.
“I couldn’t thank her enough. I didn’t have words. When I see her I’m going to give her a big hug.”
“It was a very humbling experience,” said Wade, adding that she never had to use her CPR training until Monday. “It was very scary. I’m grateful he’s OK now.”
“Carrie definitely saved his life,” said Mastro. “It was pretty crazy to try to keep a level head.”
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- On Wednesday, Tom Mastro, co-owner of the Mapleton One Stop, points to a spot on the floor where a customer started losing blood from a surgical wound and lost consciousness on Monday. Mastro’s son Travis called 911 while store employee Carrie Wade performed CPR on the man before EMTs arrived. (Joshua Archer)
