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Marblehead man meets nurses who saved his life at Gillette Rolling Stones concert
The three will be friends for “entirety.”
A Marblehead man finally had the opportunity to thank two nurses who helped save his life at a Rolling Stones concert after he put out a search to find his savior.
Tony Palladino suffered cardiac arrest at Gillette Stadium while waiting for the rock band to take the stage on May 30.
His wife recalls one fellow attendee rushing to his aid and performing CPR in the moments after.
The 78-year-old asked local media outlets to help find her.
Turns out, there were two.
“We heard a ruckus behind us, and someone screaming that there was a medical emergency,” Linda Zaloudek, a labor and delivery nurse at Mount Auburn Hospital, told Boston 25 News. “I said that would be me!”
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Zaloudek, a nurse for 39 years, helped Palladino onto the ground to perform CPR.
Her friend, Marion Stanton, a nurse for 42 years, soon joined to take over compressions.
“It felt like for a long time to me that we were going on,” said Stanton, a dialysis nurse at Fresenius Kidney Care Lowell, to Boston 25 News. “It took the wind out of our sails for a while.”
A Millis police officer, Angela Vongsavath, working a detail at Gillette, stepped in several minutes later and took over compressions from there.
First responders who used defibrillator paddles followed.
Zaloudek and Stanton said they didn’t know Palladino’s identity or how he was doing until seeing the report on Boston 25 News.
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They were introduced to Palladino at the Tedesco Country Club in Marblehead on Tuesday night.
“That was wonderful,” said Palladino on Wednesday. “Everything went full circle.”
The bond the three share will unite them as friends for “entirety,” Palladino said.
The nurses had an issue with Ticketmaster and didn’t even know if they could attend the concert until the night before, Palladino said.
“I think all the stars were aligned because they made it to the concert,” he said. “They didn’t think it would ever happen and were close to me.”
During the process, the Rolling Stones’ song “Start Me Up” was playing “ironically,” Palladino said.
The lyrics go, “If you start me up, I’ll never stop,” said Palladino, who has had a smooth recovery. “Let’s keep it that way.”
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