Ensigns Matthew Hedish and Michael Johnson are aboard the USS Mount Whitney in the Mediterranean Sea on July 15, 2023. Earlier this month, while on leave from the ship in Malaga, Spain, they helped a Spanish man in medical distress. (Mario Coto/U.S. Navy)

NAPLES, Italy — Careful observation and quick action by two U.S. Navy sailors in Spain helped keep a man in medical distress safe until emergency responders could arrive.

Ensigns Matthew Hedish and Michael Johnson had visited a Malaga museum earlier this month and were having coffee afterward at a cafe, when an elderly man who first appeared to be suffering from heat stress walked through the door, U.S. 6th Fleet said in a statement Sunday.

Hedish and Johnson then noticed the man’s head shaking and bobbling, which are signs of a potentially more serious health threat, the Navy said.

The statement didn’t say what medical condition the man had.

“The thing that really concerned me, from my experience previously as an EMT, was when people start nodding off with jitters and not being able to maintain any form of communication,” Hedish said in the statement.

Using a language translation app, Hedish told the man about his medical experience and asked permission to monitor his condition, the Navy said.

The man allowed Hedish to help him but refused an ambulance at first, saying he just had taken some medication and was waiting for it to take effect.

The man’s condition worsened, so Hedish and Johnson carried him to a nearby couch and the man allowed emergency services to be called, according to the statement.

“We were making sure that his heart was strong and making sure that he could breathe,” Hedish said.

Hedish monitored and cared for the man while Johnson checked the cafe for easy access for first responders, the Navy said.

Ultimately, emergency medical workers arrived and were able to stabilize the man’s condition. They thanked the ensigns for helping and staying with the man.

Hedish said he was doing what his training required.

“He was just someone that was having a problem,” he said. “I stepped in and made sure it was being handled correctly.”

The sailors, both assigned to Naval Computer and Telecommunications Station at Naval Support Activity Naples, were in town along with the 6th Fleet flagship USS Mount Whitney, the Navy said.