Mazzarella, originally from Bucks County and living near Montoursville, met the helicopter Life Flight crew that provided that transport recently at the hangar at the Williamsport Regional Airport, offering his appreciation and gratitude for “saving his life.”

Geisinger’s Life Flight 4 crew provided that transport, and Mazzarella and his family credited the crew for being a crucial part of that life saving process.

Mazzarella and his family reunited with a pilot, flight medic and flight nurse at the Life Flight hangar.

“They did great,” he said of the Life Flight crew. “They kept me alive.”

Life Flight, Flight Nurse Nicole Barrett talks with Angela Mazzarella, mother of Kevin Mazzarella was critically injured in February 2023 after a fall at the Genetti Hotel at the Life Flight hanger at the Williamsport Regional Airport. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Mazzarella said the entire Geisinger medical team “is great.”

“They cut a piece of my skull out so that way there was no pressure that did not cause anything, so they cut it out,” he said. “They did a good job.”

Treatment from the doctors, he said, was helpful through a long recovery and rehabilitation.

“The first surgery I had, they put a valve in my head,” he said. “It was not suctioning properly through the tube, so none of the fluid was coming out. The valve in my head was broken or cracked and never worked. I went back for a second surgery and all the fluid in my head is all gone and the valve is working properly.”

His mother, Angela, said her son is a survivor. It has been a long rehabilitation process, she said, and she credited his Geisinger team for their commitment to his recovery.

Life Flight, Flight Paramedic Jack Blessee, left, and Nurse Nicole Barrett, right, talk with Kevin Mazzarella who was critically injured in February 2023 after a fall at the Genetti Hotel at the Life Flight hanger at the Williamsport Regional Airport. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

“It is obviously nice to see patients … after they have had a traumatic injury like Kevin’s,” said Jack Blessee, flight paramedic. “We really do get enjoyment from folks who we were able to help in their moment of need and being able to get them to the right place so that they get the care that they need to get well.”

Mazzarella’s recovery has been described as amazing.

“With an injury like that, we expected lots of deficits and struggles, but it looks fantastic,” Blessee said.

“When we picked him up to where he is now — all the progress that he’s made — it’s wonderful to be a part of that care to transition him from where he was to where he needed to go and get the improvements that he had and get his life back,” said Nicole Barrett, a Geisinger Life Flight nurse.