First Aid Corps

When 67-year-old Gary Kershner went into cardiac arrest during his grandson’s baseball practice at Hillside Elementary in April, Cottage Grove residents Darlene Hardwick, Bill Larsen and Terri Zebronsky rushed to his side, performing CPR.

Diane Janski called 911 while others administered CPR. She then comforted Kershner’s grandson and drove him to the hospital, waiting with the boy until his parents arrived. Dean Larkin provided emergency responders with information about Kershner prior to his collapse.

A Cottage Grove officer arrived on the scene roughly two minutes after Janski dialed 911 and restarted Kershner’s heart with an external defibrillator.

Cottage Grove public safety director Craig Woolery said without the quick thinking of the five honored individuals, the outcome of the April incident could have been different.

Kershner, present at the ceremony along with his family, was grateful for their actions.

“I’m sure glad they knew what they were doing,” he said. “And I’m thankful for them very much.”

The middle-aged St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield club member was watching his son play an U21 hurling championship clash with east Clare side Clonlara at Wolfe Tones GAA club in Shannon when he collapsed unexpectedly.

Two nurses and several other bystanders quickly ran to the man’s aid. One nurse determined that the man had suffered a cardiac arrest and sent another person to the clubhouse to raise the alarm and find a defibrillator.

The nurses, one from each club, promptly began to administer cardio-pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and used the defibrillator to revive the man. Soon afterwards, ambulance paramedics arrived at the scene and began treating the patient.

St Joseph’s club secretary Mr Dan O’Connor said: “We are very grateful that there were so many people there to help but we have to compliment the Wolfe Tones club for having such a vital piece of lifesaving equipment when it was needed. Having a defibrillator in a club, as we have ourselves, is absolutely essential and every club in the country should have one.”

The Wolfe Tones club was presented with their defibrillator almost two years ago after money was raised by the students of the nearby St Conaire’s primary school.

Groundsman Mike Kelly, one of those trained to used the defibrillator, said: “I was down at the dressing room end working on the scoreboard when someone came running up looking for the defibrillator. Ours is strategically located so that it can be quickly accessed from the bar area, the dressing rooms or any part of the club. I grabbed it and handed it over and two nurses carried out CPR on the man. It definitely saved that man’s life.”

Keith Folkard, 50, a insurance underwriter, who was sitting in the Jarrold stand, was taken ill just minutes after kick-off of the match against Brentford.

But two GPs and Simon Bowles, a cardiology specialist nurse from the N&N, were sitting nearby and rushed to his aid.

They carried out life support and used one of Carrow Road’s automated electronic defibrillators, before an ambulance crew took Mr Folkard to hospital.

Mr Folkard said: “I’m extremely grateful for what they did and for all the care I have received in hospital since. I feel very humbled.”

The patient’s brother, Brian, from Upper Stoke, near Poringland, was also at the game, and both are season ticketholders, although Keith now lives near Southend.

Brian said: “Without the help he received at the ground I think we would have been attending his funeral. I cannot fault those guys at all.”

Gordon Crozier of North River went into cardiac arrest during the second period of his grandson’s Atom ‘A’ hockey game at the APM Centre.

Steve Stapleton the Saviour

Three spectators at the game quickly scooted into action.

Steve Stapleton, 59, of Charlottetown was among the impromptu trio that came to Crozier’s aid.

Trained in CPR (he had his most recent refresher course just last year), Stapleton started performing CPR after Crozier “started turning blue” and a pulse could not be found.

Stapleton did chest compressions on Crozier, a long-time friend, as another man blew air into Crozier’s lungs.

One of those who sprang to help Crozier was cameraman Steve Stepleton of CBC Charlottetown.

While Stapleton performed CPR for “what seemed likes hours” but in reality was more like five minutes, a woman named Rizpah MacPhee ran to get the rink’s defibrillator.

‘”We gave Gordon one jolt and he came around,” Stapleton said. “Then we kept administering the CPR, monitoring his breathing and watching for a pulse, and we just did that, with help from the others, until the EMS arrived and took him to hospital.”

“I don’t know if the ambulance could have got here fast enough for the person to survive, but the defibrillator did its job,” Donna Butler, APM Centre manager, said Monday.

Crozier was rushed to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Wade Crozier later reported that his father was resting comfortably at the QEH. Wade offered “many thanks to all who helped out as without your help and the defibrillator at the rink, this would be a very different message.”

Stapleton, a soft-spoken and humble man, wasn’t too eager to be pegged as a hero.

“It wasn’t just me,” he said of the quick response to a life-threatening situation. I was just a part of it. And thank God Gordon is still alive. I have known Gordon for years.”

Steve Stapleton believes everybody should have CPR training.

“You hope you never have to use it but at least if something happens, you know how to use it and it could save somebody’s life,” he said.

Witnesses on Wednesday night said a fan who was in the school gym to watch Lenape and Kingsway compete in the holiday tournament collapsed about two minutes after the start of the game.

The man was helped onto the court surface where the game was stopped and rescue professionals in the stands rushed to his side.

Lenape school resource officer Pat Robey of the Medford Police Department and fellow officer Andy Haggerty, who performs the same duties at Shawnee, were among the first to reach the stricken fan.

Lenape athletic trainer Bill Von Leer ran across the court carrying the portable defibrillator that all Lenape District schools have on-site.

From the stands came Dr. Dave Fischman, who has a son on the Indians’ junior varsity team, and Luann Robertson, a registered nurse.

For close to 10 minutes, the five used all their abilities, including the defibrillator, oxygen and cardio-pulmonary resuscitation, to revive the unconscious fan.

Shortly before Medford Police, Medford Emergency Services and the Mobile Intensive Care Unit arrived, the silent gymnasium heard the words: “You’re all right. You’re going to be all right.”

The man regained consciousness and was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. His identity and condition were unknown Wednesday night.

“It was amazing to be here to watch all these guys do their jobs,” Lenape principal Tony Cattani said. “We’ve had the defibrillators in the district for about five years now. We’ve had people and classes when they graduate donate them to the schools. This is the first time we’ve had to use one here and to my knowledge, none of the other district schools has had to use one. All our administrators are trained with it. Some of our teachers are trained and all of our coaches are trained for it.”

Lenape’s athletic trainer also was pleased with the response.

“It was very nice the way everybody worked together,” Von Leer said. “The two officers, Pat and Andy, and Dr. Fischman and Mrs. Robertson all seemed to know their jobs perfectly. It just worked out really well.”