At 6:45 a.m. on Dec. 23, one of our Tada car dealership part-time employees, Donald, suffered a heart attack and went into cardiac arrest.
He’d been resting in the customer lounge when another employee, Suz-Ann, happened to walk past and noticed him slumped over.
Suz-Ann thought Donald was asleep and tried to rouse him, but he didn’t respond.
When she realized Donald wasn’t breathing, she immediately summoned one of our service advisers, Steve, who’d arrived early that morning to finish some paperwork.
We have six employees trained in the automated external defibrillator program, and 12 who have taken the Level 3 St. John Ambulance course in first aid and CPR. As luck would have it, Steve happens to be one of those trained to use a defibrillator.
Two years ago, we purchased a defibrillator after our health and safety committee made us aware of the benefits of having one on-site.
Steve applied CPR on Donald and asked Suz-Ann to call 911. The dispatcher gave her detailed instructions about using the defibrillator. She relayed these to Steve, who then used the defibrillator to resuscitate Donald and restart his heart.
An ambulance showed up shortly afterward and took Donald to the hospital, where he spent several weeks recuperating. Remarkably, he is expected to make a full recovery.
Both Suz-Ann and Steve showed great poise and courage in a stressful situation. They later admitted that this was a life-altering experience for them.
