We will be reporting on lives saved around the world since our first documented life saved here in Singapore.
66-year-old Pat Dugan now knows life is too short. Last December, he was playing racquetball with his son Matt at an Omaha YMCA when his heart went into cardiac arrest, and he fell to the floor.
“We had just got started, and the lights went out,” said Pat Dugan.
“When he dropped, we kind of nudged him a little because we thought he was joking,” Matt Dugan said. “Then one of the guys we were playing with said ‘I can’t find a pulse’ and I began trying to remember what I should do.”
“I did take CPR in 8th grade and then at college, so I somewhat knew what to do,” said Matt Dugan. But it wasn’t enough, so Matt called for help.
Also coming to Pat Dugan’s aid that day were off-duty Omaha firefighter Brad Witte, the YMCA’s aquatic director, Deb Munger, and head lifeguard Mike Ceeba.
Witte continued CPR while Munger attached an automated external defibrillator (AED) to shock Dugan’s heart back to life. Ceeba came running with an oxygen bag-valve mask to help him breathe.
Munger, who is certified to use the defibrillator, said it was the first time she had done so on a real patient.
“I’ve always kind of wondered how it would work out,” Munger said. “We gave (Dugan) one shock and about 15 (chest) compressions later he took a big gasp of air.”
“Luckily, my son was there and began CPR immediately,” Dugan said. “He also got the right people and the right equipment to me.”
Dugan was moaning and groaning when paramedics arrived to transport him to Lakeside Medical Center. He spent two days at the hospital before being released and is still trying to regain his full strength.
“If people – all people – would understand how to perform CPR, it would be a lifesaving accomplishment,” he said. “Having somebody there with CPR training and the right equipment made difference for me.”
“Our station is only a minute or two away, but even so, the patient was already shocked and breathing when we got here,” Vonderhaar said. “Those were critical steps and those people who took them are the real heroes.”
