Ostberg balances running with EMS duties

 

By Mary Albl for DyeStat

 

DARIEN, Conn. -- Alex Ostberg is positioned forward in a large oversized tan armchair. He’s dressed in a freshly laundered white polo, blue khakis and boots. His signature fiery red hair is cut shorter than normal.  

 

Ten pairs of eyes rest on him as he gets ready to lead a crew meeting at Post 53. 

 

Ostberg has been involved with Post 53 – the only Emergency Medical Services (EMS) organization in the United States that is run by high school students -- for four years.  Post 53 is supervised by adults but it has been serving Darien, Conn. for 40 years.

 

Ostberg goes over the nightly plan with the three other shift members, all in high school like himself. He talks with ease about a variety of topics, including Narcan, (naloxone hydrochloride) a new piece of equipment they recently received designed to help treat drug overdoses, specifically an opioid overdose. He makes sure they all understand how it works.    

 

But it only takes 10 minutes or so for the meeting to shift to another pressing topic: dinner. 

 

“So, Arthur (Cassidy) and I discussed doing Colony Pizza for dinner,” Ostberg says with a sly smile.  

 

Colony Pizza is where Ostberg, Cassidy (who is president of Post 53) and the two other members of the distance medley relay went after placing second at indoor nationals; so it’s a special place.  

 

Sitting comfortably in the chair, Ostberg gives off the impression of someone who has everything in complete control, including what to order for dinner. 

 

But it was merely just 30 minutes ago that Ostberg, the Darien High senior distance runner, was at an outdoor track practice putting in a hill workout and running 56 second negative splits on the track.  

 

That was Alex Ostberg the runner.  

 

The Stanford-bound senior has now transformed into Alex Ostberg the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). 

 

“I know when I’m here for Post, I have to be focused on that and nothing else,” Ostberg said. 

 

The difference between Alex Ostberg the nationally-ranked distance runner, and Alex Ostberg the EMT, isn’t too different, minus the outfits. 

 

“He’s the same,” Cassidy said of his teammate. “When he’s at the track, he’s kind of like the expert on the team, not just because he’s fast, he has so much knowledge about the training that we do, and why we do it. Here at Post, he’s friendly, smart, he doesn’t cut corners.” 

 

The well-mannered and detail-oriented 18-year-old has just about mastered the art of multi-tasking. 

 

The two time-consuming activities, as well as school, have allowed him to become a multi-faceted individual; something he enjoys. 

 

“I started Post my freshman year by chance, and it was something that was really interesting to me,” said Ostberg, who may get into the medical field at Stanford next fall. “It’s taught me so many lessons and how to interact with people in a way many teenagers don’t get to. It’s very rewarding.” 

 

On this particular evening in late March it’s more crowded than normal at Post 53. The state practical exam is tomorrow; so many extra bodies are spread throughout the building putting in extra practice. Post 53 has just over 60 student volunteers, including Ostberg’s twin brother, Nicolai, who is a swimmer and the vice president of training, and his younger brother, Christian. 

 

“It’s a constant learning process,” Ostberg explains. “You never stop learning and doing training sessions. You’re constantly reinforcing your skills.”  

 

Ostberg can rattle off the medical terminology with ease. But that took time. He knows the ins and outs of the three ambulances they drive when they get a call. He knows how to perform CPR. 

 

“This is probably one of the coolest pieces of equipment we’ve got,” Ostberg says with a grin as he picks up a piece of equipment from one of the ambulances. “This is the LUCAS, and what this does is, you’ve probably heard of manual compressions for CPR, this does it for us.”

 

He explains they are always under adult supervision and have a good support system. If a call does come in, they are met by a paramedic from the nearby city of Stamford. 

 

“They meet us on scene and can do more advanced forms of life support,” he said.  

 

Ostberg said one he’ll never forget is when he had to respond to Stamford for a fire that lasted from 2 a.m. till 5 a.m. on a school night. 

 

“I actually went on that call with Arthur (Cassidy) and we got probably an hour of sleep and then had to go to school and then run a workout that afternoon. Needless to say, that was a long day.”

 

But just like running, Ostberg said it’s a good opportunity to perform under pressure, something he has become an expert in.  

 

The Post 53 building itself resembles a cleaner version of a college house and yet gives off the youthful vibe of a summer camp, with a bunch of friends just hanging out.  

 

When you walk into the two-story building, the common area is first to greet you. It’s positioned with multiple couches, chairs, a giant flat-screen television and tables. 

 

There’s a kitchen that is normally fully stocked, but Ostberg admits they eat out a lot. 

 

There are two bedrooms, one for boys and one for girls, both full of bunk beds. 

 

The upstairs has multiple rooms that are primarily used for studying and training. The radio room, where calls come in, is on the first floor.  

 

Ostberg is on a first-response shift tonight, which means he’s working for 24 hours straight. He puts in overnight shifts about once or twice a week. The other shifts vary between second and third response – a little less time demanding. 

 

The second response requires volunteers to be on call via pager the entire shift. Ostberg carries a small pager with him at all times, even when he runs and in school. If a call does come, he reports immediately to Post 53.  

 

"The only thing we're not doing is giving medication (on calls)," Ostberg said. "That's what a paramedic does. We stabilize and transport as fast as possible. We're monitoring vital signs. We can also give aspirin, oxygen, glucose and activated charcoal. We are a little bit limited in our scope, but again, that's where paramedics come in." 

 

Friday, Ostberg came straight from track practice to Post 53. It’s not always like that, but today it made more sense to not log the extra miles home.  

 

“I just decided to pack my bag the night before, it was faster and streamlines the process,” he explains.

 

His backpack is loaded with his uniform, boots, laptop, headphones, school work, a note pad, his pager, if needed, and some extra equipment. 

 

When he arrives, he takes a quick shower and is ready to go. 

 

On this particular Friday, it’s still early in the shift so there isn’t too much activity going on, just one call has come through – which is alerted by a loud and distinguishing siren and buzz sound throughout the building. 

 

Ostberg and Cassidy are on the same shift tonight. One of Ostberg’s responsibilities is scheduling. That’s all done for the month, but it’s a tedious commitment that can sometimes take up to 10 hours. He enjoys it, though, because it allows him to schedule himself and Cassidy together a lot, so they don’t have to miss a practice or race.     

 

If they do need time off, like indoor nationals, they schedule it in advance. 

 

“I think part of the reason I got sick around Foot Locker (Cross Country) Nationals was I was spending too much time around here,” Ostberg says. “I now known to try and block off about a week before if I have a big race coming up.”

 

The topic of running does come up when working together at Post 53, just like when Cassidy and Ostberg are running together at practice, Post comes up occasionally. 

 

“They talk about it (running) all the time,” one member interjects. 

 

Ostberg laughs. 

 

But with just three months left in his high school running career he has some goals he wants to accomplish. 

 

He wants to get an invite to the adidas Dream Mile in New York on June 13. 

 

“My goal is to go and break Henry’s (Wynne) record,” Ostberg says confidently. 

 

Wynne, currently a sophomore at Virginia, holds the Connecticut state mile record (4:05.04), which he set in 2013 at the Dream Mile. 

 

Ostberg said the plan after indoor nationals, where he ran a state-record 2 mile time of 8:48.88, is to grind out five hard weeks of training.

 

The first big race for him will be the 3K at the Penn Relays in April, an event he finished third in last spring (8:20.14). He said that will act as a rust-buster to see where he’s at. 

 

Ostberg said he would like to do the Brooks PR in Seattle because of the competition in late June, but it falls on the same day as Outdoor Nationals. It’s a tough decision, but he want to run the 5K and go under 14 minutes, his ultimate goal. 

 

“I have to defend my title,” Ostberg says with a smile. “I can’t not go to nationals.”

 

But that’s Alex Ostberg the runner. 

 

Right now he’s EMT Alex Ostberg, which means tonight, he’ll relax, eat some pizza, watch a movie and enjoy the evening. 

 

That is until they get a call.

 

“Everything can change in a minute,” Ostberg says. “That’s good and bad … but I love it.”