HSI special agent, former US Marine saves man's life at local gym – on Marine Corps birthday

Ordinarily U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Boston Special Agent Brian Andersen, former U.S. Marine Corps 1st Division amphibious assault crew member, would be at the gym to work out, as he said, “between 0530 and 0700.” But, last month, on the 239th birthday of the Marine Corps, following his annual check-up with his surgeon after last years’ total knee replacement surgery, he decided to work out at 11 a.m. He had never been at the gym that late before.

“The surgeon was happy with my progress, but encouraged me to expand the range of flexibility in my left knee,” Anderson said, “so I stopped at the gym to get a quick workout and to seek some guidance from my therapist.”

Just another day at the gym – or so it seemed.

After his workout, he hit the bike for a while. About halfway through his ride, he noticed some people running around, but wearing his ear-buds, he didn’t hear what was being said. Moments later he realized something was very wrong as he saw his therapist walk out of her office with an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in her hands and a look of panic on her face.

“It was clear that he was in cardiac arrest and had no pulse and was not breathing,” Anderson said. “Although I assessed both right then, I made sure that the 9-11 system had been activated.”

He checked for a pulse and respirations. There were none. Andersen immediately secured the assistance of a woman, instructing her to open the patient’s airway while he set up the AED. With the airway open, he directed her to begin chest compressions, guiding her through the process while he affixed the pads to the patient’s chest.

“With the AED hooked up, I began a series of analyses that resulted in the administration of two shocks over a span of about six minutes,” he said.

“Twice I was unable to deliver a shock and I took over chest compressions until another analysis could be conducted.” The second shock that he administered brought the results that they had been looking for and the patient regained a pulse and began breathing on his own.

Medfield Police officers and EMTs from the Medfield Fire Department arrived just after the second successful shock. Andersen said the man never went into cardiac arrest again and was later transferred to a Boston-area hospital for treatment. He was released six days after the event.

Andersen, a native of Essex, Vermont, went directly into the USMC after graduating from high school in 1986, completing basic training at Parris Island, then transferred to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California. After his four-year tour with the Marines, in 1990, he enrolled at St. Michael’s College, just outside Burlington, Vermont. St. Michael’s College has a student-run fire and rescue program that services not only the campus and all of the students, but several nearby communities. Andersen was a member of both programs - the Fire Department and the Rescue squad.

“Service with St. Mike’s provided me with my first exposure to emergency medicine, and would lead to my decade of service as an EMT in the State of Vermont,” Anderson beamed. He served with the Ludlow Fire Department and Ludlow Ambulance Service.

All that hard work and constant training paid dividends many times over.

For Andersen, what began as his personal time to increase his flexibility on his left knee, ended up changing lives. Nine days after the event, Andersen met with the patient, Jon Kramer of Medfield, Massachusetts, at a nearby coffee shop and talked for a couple of hours.

“I was humbled by his words of praise,” he said. Kramer is married and has two adult children. They talked at length about what happened on Nov. 10, and in particular talked about the strange set of circumstances that brought them together at that time and in that place.

“I’ve seen my new friend a couple of times since that day and each time he tears up when thanking me for what I did to keep him alive that day,” Anderson said. “I’m just thankful that I was in a position to help and that he gets to spend time with his family.”

Andersen has been assigned to the HSI Boston National Security Division, where he has investigated cases throughout the NSID portfolio, including counter proliferations, the JTTF and the Human Rights Violator and War Crimes Unit.

During his tenure, Andersen has received a number of local and national awards, including the 2014 ICE Director's Award for Excellence in Law Enforcement. Andersen and his colleagues were recently recognized for their five-year effort to bring to justice Beatrice Munyenyezi, a former naturalized U.S. citizen from Rwanda, who lied about her role in the 1994 Rwandan genocide and manipulated her way into the country.