First Aid Corps

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.”

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

A man who collapsed on the Washington National Golf Course driving range In Auburn was saved by a staff member who grabbed a defibrillator and the man’s father who administered CPR.

The man started breathing after the automatic external defibrillator delivered one shock.

A Mountain View Fire and Rescue provided additional care until King County Medic One transported him to a hospital.

“Mountain View Fire and Rescue would like to thank the friends and family, Washington National Golf Course, including Rolly Leonard and King County Medic One with their help today with this event, and hopes for a speedy recovery for the man,” department spokesman Tim Perciful said in a statement.

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. 

Bill Sauer Saved

It all began in July. Bill Sauer had suffered a heart attack and his doctor sent him home with an AED, a portable defibrillator, just in case.

“About one o’clock in the morning I heard him struggling to breathe,” said Bill’s wife Judy. “I tried to wake him, he was unconscious.”

Judy’s son Matt grabbed the defibrillator and the machine talked them through every step.

“It took quite awhile for the ambulance to get there, but I got Bill back,” Judy said.

Sauer gets choked up when he thinks about what could have happened.

“It takes awhile to sink in when you live through that,” Sauer said.

Dr. Ed Arazoza, a cardiologist, at Rochester General Hospital is not only Bill’s doctor but also a friend. He says when he gave him the defibrillator, he didn’t really think Sauer would need it.

“A defibrillator provides an electric shock to restart the heat. If you have an electrical instability, it restores normal rhythm,” . Arazoza explained.

“’We believe defibrillators should be everywhere. We bought one for ourselves, my wife says it’s my lunch box. I think there should be lunch boxes everywhere,” he said.