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‘Hero’ paramedic solicited over $5K in donations despite allegedly botching job

A Manhattan paramedic pocketed $5,760 in GoFundMe donations by painting himself as a lifesaving hero but stands accused of botching care for a man who died, The Post has learned.

In a campaign titled “Rescuer needs rescuing,” John D. Henderson, 52, claimed his actions revived a man in cardiac arrest.

“We were able to get his heart going again. We transported him to the hospital, and he was actually opening his eyes, breathing spontaneously and moving,” Henderson wrote on the crowd-funding Web site.

He did not mention that the patient, restaurant manager Michael Johnson, died that night. Johnson’s co-workers were devastated.

Still, Henderson whined on the GoFundMe page that the state Department of Health suspended his license after the East Village incident in September “because of my decision to move the patient instead of working him up in the middle of a small bistro.”

He went on to complain that the state had not yet contacted him about a hearing and “sent the paperwork to the wrong address.”

Henderson then begged for bucks because he can’t practice.

“I just need help getting back on my feet. We’re fighting to stay afloat,” he wrote, citing $15,000 ub credit-card debt, rent owed and utilities turned off. “I recently started driving for Uber and Lyft to try and keep the lights on.”

His tale brought in nearly $2,000 more than he requested.

On Sept. 13, Johnson had been complaining to fellow staffers at Tuome, on East Fifth Street, that he felt like he was having a heart attack but continued working, an insider said. He was training to be the general manager and was believed to be in his 60s or 70s.

He collapsed in the middle of the dining room. A staffer called 911 at 8:07 p.m. The caller said Johnson was passed out and “unresponsive,” officials said.

An employee performed CPR, which likely helped keep Johnson alive while waiting for EMS, an ­insider said.

Henderson and his partner, Pamela Aschendorf, 39, were stationed at Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital on the Lower East Side. They arrived at 8:19 p.m.

But the paramedics broke protocol by showing up in the eatery without medical equipment — such as a heart monitor and defibrillator, IV medications and oxygen — state officials allege.

They also failed to immediately give CPR, officials say.

The emergency call was upgraded to cardiac arrest. But instead of rendering care on the spot, as required by EMS rules, Henderson went back to the ambulance to get a stretcher, and the two carried the patient out to the vehicle, an EMS source said.

“They picked up the man and put him on the stretcher like a slab of meat,” a source said.

Two FDNY medics who arrived blew the whistle on Henderson and Aschendorf.

On GoFundMe, Henderson claimed “there was no room to ­effectively work on the patient and there were no other rescuers but my partner.”

Other paramedics said Henderson and Aschendorf should have cleared the area.

Tuome restaurant on E. 5th St. in the East VillageHelayne Seidman

The ambulance got to the hospital at about 9 p.m. Officials could not give the time of death.

The state Department of Health is seeking to revoke the paramedic certifications of both Henderson and Aschendorf. Hearings are set for February.

Asked whether the alleged violations contributed to Johnson’s death, a representative said: “Administrative-law hearings consider all factors, including patient outcomes, when making a ruling.”

Henderson canceled his GoFundMe campaign on Wednesday after The Post sent two e-mails seeking more details.

Both he and Aschendorf did not return messages.