First Aid Corps

“It’s overwhelming that people cared and took such initiative for a stranger,” said Scott McGuffin. “We have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving,” said his wife, Colleen. “We’re just so lucky to have people who helped and a hospital that has been innovative.”

Scott McGuffin the Survivor

Eight days before Thanksgiving, McGuffin had a heart attack while driving in Doylestown near the Mercer Museum. He fell unconscious and crashed into two vehicles before slamming into a sign.

Frank Sturza saw the accident, called 911 and ran over and shut off McGuffin’s vehicle, which was revving, authorities said. Cpl. William Doucette of Doylestown police, who was soon on scene, began administering CPR in a desperate effort to save the man’s life, the McGuffins said.

Central Bucks Ambulance personnel arrived and the EMTs used a defibrillator to jump-start McGuffin’s heart. The shock treatment got McGuffin’s heart back into pace just as the ambulance arrived at Doylestown Hospital, said Eugene Vallely, a registered nurse at the hospital.

But McGuffin had experienced a major cardiac arrest and had been unresponsive for about 20 minutes, his heart lapsed in a lethal rhythm, said Vallely. The experts feared brain damage.

“It was very emotional not knowing what was going to happen,” said Colleen McGuffin.

But by last Thursday, McGuffin began to move his fingers and show signs that he could respond to voices, his wife said. By Friday, he could squeeze hands and perform a “thumbs-up” gesture.

“They started taking him off the respirator. That was a big milestone. They began taking out the other tubes,” said Colleen McGuffin. “I started to have a huge sigh of relief that he was going to be OK.”

McGuffin emerged with his long-term memory in working order. Over the weekend he had trouble remembering new things, but by Monday he was already able to recall what had happened the previous day.

He can’t remember the heart attack or accident, but on Tuesday he was walking and talking and expressing thanks for the effort and good fortune that kept him among the living against what medical experts said was fairly steep odds.

In fact, McGuffin’s ribs are what bother him most. Nine of them were broken while CPR was being administered. Vallely said such rigorous CPR was necessary.

“The fact that he got such good quality CPR saved his life,” Vallely said.

McGuffin’s survival was not only emotional for him, his wife and their two adult sons, but also for all involved who helped him, said Vallely.

A SINGER saved the life of an elderly man who collapsed on the dance floor of a Weymouth hotel during a festive Frank Sinatra performance.

Brett McNally the Saviour

Brett McNally, of Solid Gold Duo, sprung into action at The Berkeley Hotel on The Esplanade when the partygoer, aged in his mid 70s, fell to the floor during a rendition of My Way.

Brett, 28, who is newly trained in first aid, dropped his microphone and carried out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

He managed to get the elderly holidaymaker breathing again before paramedics arrived and whisked him off to Dorset County Hospital, where the man underwent an emergency operation to get a pacemaker fitted.

Brett, of Westham, said: “The gig was all going really well, then on my last song, an old man who was dancing with a lady suddenly collapsed and stopped breathing and was clinically dead.

“I stopped singing and it was lucky that I had just completed a first aid course because I commenced CPR and brought him back to life.

“It turned out that the hospital had to keep him in and do an emergency operation to put a pacemaker in.

“I feel quite proud of myself that I saved a life at a gig, although I did go into shock afterwards.”

The holidaymaker’s group, who are believed to be from Wales, were visiting the borough as part of Turkey and Tinsel tour.

Brett, who had completed a St John’s Ambulance course through his work in entertainment at the Russell Hotel and The Hotel Prince Regent just a few weeks before, said the man was expected to be able to leave hospital soon.

His wife and singing partner Terri McNally, 26, said: “It was a slow dance and the man was dancing with a woman when he fell backwards and landed right next to me.

“I bent down to see if he was all right and I could see he wasn’t.

“Everyone was saying ‘Put him in the recovery position’ but the man couldn’t breathe so it wasn’t the right thing to do.

“I saw the life go out of his face but luckily Brett was able to do CPR and brought him back.

“It was quite shocking actually.”

She added: “The organiser of the coach party told us that the man was doing really well and that he’s very grateful to Brett for saving his life.

“It’s inspired me to want to do a first aid course as we tend to perform for older people and it’s proved useful to have.

“We’re lucky it didn’t happen before Brett did his course.”

Call it the runners’ communal spirit, call it selfless Good Samaritanism, but if you’re Dave you’d probably call it a miracle.

He likely won’t soon forget the “100 + 1 Thanksgiving Day 10K Run/Walk” in Cincinnati.

“I can tell you what I told (Dave’s) wife and daughter (Thursday): ‘When we took him to the hospital, he was doing well,’ ” Jim Benken, special events manager for MedCorp, told The Enquirer on Friday.

It was Benken, with assistance from three fellow medics (Linda Walz, John McKenzie and Jason Martin), who applied the electrical paddles to Dave’s chest and restarted his heart.

“He had gone into cardiac arrest,” Benken said. “We shocked him…and were recharging the AED (automated external defibrillator) paddles when his heart re-started and he began gasping for air.”

Dave was coherent in the ambulance and his vital signs were good on the way to Christ Hospital, where he was admitted, Benken said.

The medics knew where to respond on the race course because another runner, around the age of 14 or 15, had cut short his race at Third and Elm streets. He ran for an ambulance near Paul Brown Stadium, about 60 to 70 yards away and just shy of the finish line.

“We can’t say enough about the nurses who stopped to administer CPR, and the young man who ran to tell us there was a man down,” Benken said.

No more than 15 to 20 seconds had elapsed from the time the man fell to when he was receiving CPR. Within another two minutes, Benken said, the paddles were being applied to his chest.

More than 12,000 people participated in the 6.2-mile race, which was won by 21-year-old Eric Finan, a junior at the University of Cincinnati.

After reviving Dave, Benken returned to his work station while his fellow medics transported the victim to the hospital. A few minutes later, a middle-aged woman and her daughter, who had both run and finished the race, asked Benken if he had any knowledge of any runners who might have experienced problems during the race.

After asking a couple of questions, Benken realized that Dave was the mother and daughter’s husband and father, respectively, so he called one of his fellow medics who had been at the hospital and was able to update the family on Dave’s condition.

Without anything more to a first name and age, a spokesperson was unable to update the runner’s condition on Friday.

The Enquirer first learned Friday of Thursday’s lifesaving event. A group that called itself “Concerned Turkey Trotters” e-mailed the paper:

“Yesterday, at about mile 5.25 of the 10K (6.2-mile) Turkey Trot, my running group saw a male runner that had just collapsed on the course. Another man, who said he was a doctor, ran to him and began doing chest compressions. It looked like he was not responding .… We haven’t been able to find any report on this man…”

It is not unusual for there to be a variety of cases that require medical attention during the Thanksgiving Day Run/Walk, said race director Julie Isphording. It is why there are ambulances stationed throughout the course. But Dave’s case was noteworthy, given that he had gone into cardiac arrest and received quick attention from his fellow runners, she said.

“Every single piece of the CPR equation fell into place, and did so in timely fashion,” Benken said.

James Flippin is one of the most active 72-year-olds you’d ever meet. The walls of his home are similar to the hall of fame, covered with awards from the 71 marathons he’s run.

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He has remained fit all of his life, so it came as a surprise last week when he had a heart attack during his daily swim at the Northwest Family YMCA.

“When I would swim, I would be a little short of breath for about 10 minutes, but then it would correct itself,” Flippin said. “But on Nov. 15, after 10 minutes, that’s when I had my heart attack instead.”

James Flippin the Survivor

Linda Crabtree was the only lifeguard on duty at the time, and immediately called for help on her radio. With her quick reaction and the help of Melissa Betts and Elizabeth Janda, the three were able to pull Flippin out of the water.

“He’s 6 feet 4; I couldn’t keep him all the way out,” Crabtree said. “I kept his head out until the other two ladies came to help. Two of us pulled and one of us pushed.”

Once they got him on the pool deck, the three used the automated defibrillator to shock him back to life before the paramedics arrived.

Flippin’s daughter Lucy Johnston spoke of how stunned the doctors were that the women were able to save him: “They were in shock. They were walking around showing each other the papers from the defibrillator, and saying ‘I can’t believe this, he’s so lucky, you’ve got to thank whoever helped him’.”

“It’s great that it had that kind of an outcome, but I just feel like there were guardian angels all over,” Crabtree said.

To Flippin’s family, the real guardian angels are the women who saved his life.

“They’re angels. They were there at the perfect time to help our family,” Flippin’s wife Paula said. “There could not have been more perfect timing.”

Now, Flippin can run a few more marathons, adding to his massive wall collection. But most importantly, he can spend another Thanksgiving with his family.

“You can’t be more thankful than that, when you think there would’ve been an empty seat at the table. And now there’s not going to be one, thanks to those three women,” Paula added.

“It’s a true miracle, that’s the word for my dad. He’s a walking miracle,” Johnston said.

“I’m just grateful to be alive,” Flippin said.

About 7:30 Tuesday evening, Deputies Jason Comans and Ryan Robinson joined Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Josh Tucker and Corporal Michael Tucker for a meal break at at Smokey’s Real Pit Bar-B-Que on Pensacola Boulevard.

Their meal was quickly interrupted when they noticed a female, later identified as Escambia resident Helen Clark, 55, pass out and fall to the floor.

As the deputies and troopers rushed over to administer first aid, they noticed that Clark was not breathing and didn’t have a pulse.

Deputy Comans and Trooper Tucker immediately began CPR while Deputy Robinson rushed out to his patrol vehicle and retrieved an Automated External Defibrillator (AED).

Deputy Robinson applied the AED to Clark’s chest and was prompted to continue CPR. Deputy Robinson gave Clark rescue breaths while Trooper Tucker performed chest compressions. A shock was then administered by the AED.

The officers continued CPR and by the time Escambia County EMS arrived, Clark had a pulse and was breathing on her own.

Clark, now conscious and alert, was able to thank these officers before being transported to Sacred Heart Hospital for treatment.

“Escambia County Sheriff’s deputies are trained yearly in First Aid, CPR and the use of AED’s. The time and expense it takes to train all our deputies paid off,” said Chris Welborn, public information officer for the ECSO. “Sheriff (David) Morgan is very proud of the deputies involved in this incident and hopes Helen Clark fully recovers and enjoys this holiday season with her family and friends.”