First Aid Corps

Chiasson – who was a nurse before joining the OPP – was at a police association event at Splash Canyon Water Park and Resort on Nursery Road in Springwater Township with her family last week when she was told a woman had collapsed in a nearby pavilion.

Const. Robin Chiasson the Saviour

When Chiasson reached the woman and did a primary assessment there were no vital signs. Instinctively, she began CPR, compressing the woman’s chest while lifeguards went to get breathing apparatus.

“The lifeguards were really prompt in getting the mask they needed and that helped a lot,” she says.

Chiasson worked with the lifeguards to revive the woman until paramedics, firefighters and police arrived.

The woman – in her early 60s – was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital where she remains in serious condition, “but,” adds the young officer, “she’s still here fighting!”

Last November, the mother of three, and constable Peter Hunter of the Southern Georgian Bay OPP detachment, used a school’s AED (automated external defibrillator) and CPR to help revive a 13-year-old boy who was not exhibiting any vital signs after collapsing at James Keating Public School in Penetanguishene.

“I’m beginning to think I need an AED (automated external defibrillator) with me at all times,” she said.

A 74-year-old man was taken to hospital in critical condition after lifeguards rescued him from a pool and found he had suffered cardiac arrest.

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Paramedic spokesman Supt. Darrell Drew said lifeguards at the Ottawa Athletic Centre on Lancaster Road initiated CPR and shocked the man with a defibrillator. Ottawa Fire Service assisted with CPR until paramedics arrived and put the man on advanced cardiac life support.

The man’s pulse had returned by the time he was transported to hospital, Drew said.

Don Weir, 66, suffered a heart attack on Feb. 15 after swimming at the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis.

Weir, a father of seven and grandfather of four, had been working out in the pool for more than two decades before his life-changing ordeal, one he feels fortunate to have survived.

Feb. 15 was not a normal day for lifeguards. Although they undergo hours of training and practice to be ready to respond when someone in the water needs their help, they put those skills to the test in a real-world situation.

Five of them were involved in the rescue, not poolside, but in the locker room.

Weir had just finished swimming laps when he collapsed on the locker room floor. Another swimmer found him, and lifeguards rushed in to help.

CPR was performed on Weir, and an automatic defibrillator was used until paramedics arrived.

Weir was rushed to the hospital, where doctors were able to stabilize him.

On Monday, Weir was able to go back to the pool to thank those who saved him.

“I could hardly wait. I had no memory for five days,” he said. “They told me what happened. It was very important I get here.”

“Knowing that we kept a family together, it’s just unbelievable,” said lifeguard Christina Reitz. “You don’t think about that when you get up in the morning.”

Weir is still going through cardiac rehabilitation. He won’t be able to come back to swim until he gets clearance from a doctor, but Weir said he looks forward to returning to the pool.

The man was seen floating face down in the ocean pool at Mona Vale after swimming laps on Saturday morning and was dragged from the water by a female bystander.

Surf patrol life guards aged between 16 and 18, accompanied by an older team leader, began resuscitation at the poolside and a defibrillator was used to restart his heart.

The swimmer was moved to Mona Vale hospital and put into a medically induced coma.

Mr Faddy said doctors believe he will make a full recovery.

“This was a patrol made up largely of teenage boys and girls,” Mr Faddy said in a statement.

“The way they responded to the emergency was a credit to them as lifesavers and a reflection of the quality of their training.

“They can certainly go home today knowing that they saved a life.”

Andrew Blanshard from Denby Dale was on a course learning how to teach swimming at Ponds Forge International Sports Centre in Sheffield when the incident happened.

He said: “During the lunch-time break I went for a swim and the next thing I knew I woke up hospital two days later.

“I just blacked out and went down in the water. I later found out that I had a heart condition and this could have happened at any time.”

Andrew was pulled from the water by lifeguards who spotted that he had lost consciousness.

They performed life-saving resuscitation on the business consultant using a defibrillator when they discovered he had stopped breathing.

Andrew has taken part in sports all his life and is a member of Wakefield Triathlon Club.

Andrew was fit and healthy and had competing for years in triathlons around the world.

He said: “I’m incredibly fit so it just goes to show that this can happen to anyone.

“I am just so grateful to the staff for saving my life.

“It really is a testament to their training, as well as their personalities, that they did everything perfectly during the rescue and the venue should be extremely proud of them.”

Helen Broadbent, general manager at the Sheffield International Venues-managed pool, said: “Everyone at the venue is thrilled that Andrew is recovering well from his ordeal.

“It was the first time we used the defibrillator unit for real and highlighted how critical it is that pools have one available.”

Andrew is now recovering at home after spending 10 nights on the coronary care unit at Sheffield’s Northern General Hospital.

Mr Callaghan, who has been body surfing since 1962, was holidaying in St Ives with wife Gill, 74, Julian, daughter Sue Tallis, 47 and her children Lucy, 15, and Harry, who live in Frolisworth, near Lutterworth.

John Callaghan the Survivor

He returned to the apartment feeling cold and tired after a surfing session on July 16.

John suddenly collapsed on the bathroom floor.

His son Julian, who used to be a lifeguard at Stamford Leisure Pool, gave his father emergency resuscitation while his grandson Harry Tallis, 12, ran to the beach to ask for help.

Lifeguards Robert Sprent-Howell, James Symons, Emily Harris and Ben Tregonning collected an emergency first aid kit, including a defibrillator, and ran to the apartment where they found Mr Callaghan unconscious.

Mr Callaghan’s heart was shocked three times by the defibrillator to get it started.

Another lifeguard Sarah Rowe and the St Ives Coastguard team cleared an area on the beach for the Royal Navy helicopter to land to take Mr Callaghan, who was breathing but had a weak pulse, to hospital.

After five days in intensive care in Truro, Mr Callaghan was transferred to Glenfield Heart Hospital, in Leicester and underwent surgery to fit an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

Mr Callaghan is now fully recovered but says he has quit body surfing.

Mr Symons said: “We were delighted and very relieved when John’s wife came down to the beach the next day to tell us that he was making a recovery.”

Mr John Parlatt was in the pool at Southwell Leisure Centre when Mr Paul Smith was taken ill during an over-50s’ session.

Lifeguards got Mr Smith out of the water and helped Mr Parlatt, a member of Southwell Defibrillator Group, to resuscitate him.

Mr Parlatt (56) of Crafts Way, Southwell, said: “I realised the man was blue around the lips and wasn’t breathing so I started CPR (cardio-pulmonary resuscitation) and asked one of the lifeguards to phone for an ambulance and get the leisure centre’s defibrillator, while I got another of the lifeguards to hold back the man’s head to keep his airway clear.”

Mr Parlatt used the defibrillator to shock Mr Smith’s heart.

Mr Parlatt said: “The man started gurgling a little but a few seconds later he stopped breathing again so we continued with resuscitation.”

“Thankfully he came round so we put him in the recovery position.”

Mr Smith (51) of Springfield Road, was taken to Lincoln County Hospital by air ambulance and was allowed home on Wednesday.

His sister, Mrs Jean Dodsworth, of Arnold Avenue, said he remembered little about the incident.

She said: “He had just done one length when he thought there was a lot of splashing around him, which he now realises was him, and the next thing he remembers is being on the side of the pool.

“He said he was so grateful that the people in the pool at the time acted so quickly and the person who administered the defibrillator obviously knew what he was doing. He really was a life-saver.

“If this had happened when my brother was out walking he wouldn’t be here so I cannot thank the people at the pool enough.”

Mr Parlatt, who helped to found the defibrillator group about five years ago, said: “It was a great outcome because he survived and is recovering.

“I don’t think you can ever get used to attending incidents like this because every person and situation is different.

“I would like to praise the boys from the leisure centre because they really were very alert to see the man in difficulty.”

We will be reporting on lives saved around the world since our first documented life saved here in Singapore.

Guards whistled to call a man in from the deep water about 2:30 p.m., Capt. Scott Petersohn said, and by the time he got back to the beach — south of the Plaza approach near Daytona Beach’s northern city limit — the swimmer was exhausted and suffered an apparent heart attack.

The 57-year-old man sat on the sand, out of breath, Petersohn said.

“A minute or two later, he fell over dead,” he said.

Beach Patrol personnel administered CPR and used an automatic defibrillator to revive the man, Petersohn said.

“He was awake and alert when EVAC (ambulance) took him to the hospital,” he said.

He was transported to Florida Hospital Oceanside in Ormond Beach. His condition was not available Friday night.

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.”

We will be reporting on lives saved around the world since our first documented life saved here in Singapore.

The 44-year-old man was training in the weight room on March 5 when he collapsed to the floor.

A YMCA lifeguard and an off-duty paramedic with Muskoka Emergency Medical Services rushed to his side, calling 911 and starting CPR.

A County of Simcoe Public Access Defibrillator was then successfully utilized to shock the man’s heart which had stopped beating.

The patient regained a heartbeat and was conscious and breathing on his own when paramedics arrived two minutes later.

He was transported to Orillia Soldiers’ Memorial Hospital and later transferred to Southlake Regional Health Centre in Newmarket for emergency cardiac surgery.

The placement of the AED at the YMCA in Orillia was directed by the County of Simcoe Paramedic Services and made possible by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario’s Heart&Stroke Restart a Heart, Restart a Life Campaign and Chase McEachern Tribute Fund and a generous donation from Scotiabank.

“Our son Chase had a dream of seeing more defibrillators available in more public places to save more lives,” his father, John McEachern said. “Knowing there have been two lives saved in our home community is truly an honour to the legacy of Chase’s dream.”