Jack Swem had just started his Wednesday morning workout last week at Sports Fitness & Fun on Route 17A in Florida when he passed out and began shaking on the floor.
Thinking that the 57-year-old was suffering from a seizure, trainer Jason Sanchez cleared the area around him and went to get a defibrillator.
Swem’s shaking stopped, and he seemed to be breathing, but a weak pulse signaled Sanchez to spring into action.
Relying on his training, the 27-year-old former swimming coach at Middletown High School worked methodically, first placing the pads on Swem’s chest, waiting for the shock, then administering CPR, and then holding Swem’s head up to let air in.
But it didn’t work. Swem was still unconscious.
So Sanchez initiated the procedure again, and then one more time, until — to his relief — Swem’s heart rhythm jolted back to normal.
By the time emergency workers arrived, Swem, a single dad, was looking around groggily.
The incident happened just about two weeks before Swem’s birthday. Thanks to Sanchez, the father will live to celebrate it with his 10-year-old son.
“Once it was over, and he was alive, it was the best feeling,” Sanchez said.
