Tri-C Nursing Student Among Those Recognized for Saving Grafton Man

Michelle Dostall performed CPR on runner who suffered heart attack last July

Last summer, Cuyahoga Community College nursing student Michelle Dostall decided to begin her Independence Day holiday a bit early. That decision helped save the life of a local runner.

Dostall, of Grafton, would normally have been in class at the Westshore Campus on the morning of July 3, but wasn’t feeling well and went home early. She was making coffee when her fiancée pulled into the driveway and alerted her to a man who had collapsed on nearby Cowley Road.

The man was 63-year-old Jerry Fowle, a Grafton Township resident and avid runner. Fowle was three miles into a four-mile run when he suffered a severe heart attack.

Dostall and her fiancée, Paul Signorelli, arrived to find him unconscious and not breathing. While bystanders called 911, Dostall and Signorelli performed CPR until Grafton EMS arrived and transported Fowle to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center.

Fowle has since made a full recovery. Last week, nearly six months after his heart attack, Fowle and his wife Beverly had an opportunity to thank Dostall, Signorelli and all of the first responders and medical professionals who played a role in saving his life. They were honored as part of a ceremony at Elyria Medical Center.

 For more on this story, follow the links to the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram and the Lorain Morning Journal.

January 09, 2018

Erik Cassano, 216-987-3577 erik.cassano@tri-c.edu