Photo courtesy of Eric Wallen Lyon County Sheriff’s Deputies Dustin Demuth and Austin Thompson hold up pins they received in recognition of life-saving efforts at a medical call in Marshall earlier this spring. Thompson administered Narcan to an unresponsive person, and Demuth continued to provide care to the person until an ambulance arrived.

MARSHALL — Responding to a medical emergency is a task that takes many different people, Austin Thompson and Dustin Demuth are quick to point out. But their role in caring for an unresponsive person in Marshall helped make a difference, said Lyon County Sheriff Eric Wallen.

Last week, the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office announced that Thompson and Demuth, both Lyon County deputies, received life saving awards for their actions at a medical call earlier this spring. Thompson administered Narcan, a medication to treat opioid overdoses, to the unresponsive person, and Demuth continued to provide care for them until an ambulance arrived.

Wallen said the Sheriff’s Office wanted to recognize the two deputies for their role in helping prevent death or serious harm to the victim.

“I’m pretty humbled that I received the award,” Thompson said. However, both Thompson and Demuth said Marshall Police and medical responders from North Memorial Ambulance deserved credit as well.

“It’s an honor,” Demuth said of receiving the lifesaving award. “But I have to give props to Deputy Thompson and the Marshall Police. They were there first.”

“It’s a team effort,” Wallen said of local emergency response.

Thompson said he had first heard the report of a person having a medical emergency while he was working at the Sheriff’s Office in the Marshall Law Enforcement Center. He and Marshall Police responded to the call, and found the person unresponsive in an apartment in Marshall.

Thompson was carrying Narcan with him on that call. After checking the victim’s condition, he administered the medicine.

“It’s one of those things you hope you never have to use,” Thompson said. But the medication seemed to help the person within a short time, he said. “I’m just happy I was there at the right time to use it.”

Demuth arrived at the scene later and continued to provide care for the person until an ambulance arrived. Demuth is an emergency medical technician as well as a deputy, and has also led first aid and CPR instruction for the Sheriff’s Office.

Demuth said he was glad to see that Narcan had been used appropriately in the incident.

“It made me proud as an instructor,” he said.

Wallen said Narcan has become an important life-saving tool for the Sheriff’s Office and emergency medical responders.

“I’m glad they’re trained in the use of it,” Wallen said. Responding to drug overdose incidents “has become a more prominent issue,” he said. The incident Thompson and Demuth were recognized for was not the first time that members of the Sheriff’s Office have needed to use Narcan to help a member of the public.

The two deputies said receiving the live saving honor was a bit of a surprise.

“I enjoy helping people,” Thompson said. He wasn’t anticipating getting an award.

“You just do your job. You don’t necessarily expect recognition,” Demuth said.