If Tom Sessa seeks publicity, he does a nice job of hiding it.
A West Catholic senior baseball player, Sessa is also a volunteer firefighter
for Upper Darby Township. On April 22, he responded to a life-or-death
emergency call. An elderly man had suffered a heart attack and was in
dire need of medical attention.
When Sessa arrived on the scene, the man reportedly had been without
breath for close to 10 minutes and all hope seemed lost. Sessa immediately
returned to his vehicle to retrieve an Automated External Defibrillator
(AED).
Although he knew how to use the machine, Sessa had never before used
it in a crisis situation.
To his relief, the AED revived the gentleman. When an ambulance arrived
on the scene, Sessa accompanied the man to the hospital. Although he
has not actually met the man he saved, he has been told that his health
is improving steadily.
To hear Sessa tell the story, it was like just another day at the office.
“There really isn’t a whole lot of time to think,”
said Sessa, a member of St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Drexel Hill.
“You just react.”
For his efforts, Sessa recently was presented with the mayor’s
award from Upper Darby and an award of excellence from his firehouse.
He accepted the honors with appreciation, though he deflected most of
the fanfare.
Perhaps shunning the spotlight comes with the territory when your father
is a career captain firefighter, as is Sessa’s father, Tom.
Sessa said he’s learned most of what he knows about firefighting
and emergency responses from his dad.
“I just love being a firefighter. I love everything about it,”
he said.
However, becoming a firefighter isn’t necessarily in the Sessa
genes. Sessa’s brothers Kevin and Matt, a West Catholic sophomore
and freshman, respectively, have zero interest in following in their
older brother’s footsteps.
Sessa understands their reluctance.
“It’s not for everybody,” said Sessa. ‘It’s
definitely for me, though. Pretty much as soon as the bell goes off,
I get going and just focus on what needs to be done.”
Although Sessa said he would become a firefighter if he passed the necessary
tests, he is planning to attend Neumann College next fall. If he has
a chance to play baseball at Neumann, he will. Baseball has been a part
of his life since he was 5 years old.
He’s played basically every position at West Catholic, most recently
as starting catcher.
“It’s fun,” said Sessa. “You’re in every
play. It gets tough if you have a wild pitcher, or he throws something
different than what he’s supposed to, but it’s definitely
a position that suits me.”
After all, it’s arguable that catchers have the most challenging
responsibilities, but rarely receive much of the credit.
Sounds tailor-made for firefighter Tom Sessa.
John Knebels may be reached at jknebs@ao.com.