First Aid Corps

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 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.”

Jordan has no memory of the morning he nearly died at Goodson Rec Center on July 7 while training for his second triathlon of the summer. But his coach, Nick Frasersmith, recalls every detail and the fear he felt.

Jordan Myhre the Survivor

“It was a regular practice,” he said. “There was no sign of anything different from any other day.”

Jordan had just finished the last set, touching the wall before anyone else, and gone straight into warm-down.

Suddenly, Frasersmith noticed that Jordan was swimming crooked. He saw him flip over on his back and sensed something wasn’t right.

Frasersmith yelled to another swimmer to pull Jordan to the side of the pool and raced over.

As the lifeguard called 911, a woman — a nurse arriving for a water aerobics class — offered to help.

They couldn’t find a pulse, so they started CPR. The coach did rescue breathing while the nurse performed the compressions.

The lifeguard rushed over with the AED, an automated defibrillator that detected that the rhythm of Jordan’s heart indicated the need for a shock. They wiped his body dry, applied the pads and began that work.

“It was very surreal,” Frasersmith said. “The weird part was why he was in this situation. It’s not like he hit his head or slipped and fell. I thought, ‘Breathe, wake up, do something.‘ ”

They shocked his heart twice before paramedics arrived.

“It was very scary,” Frasersmith said. “He did not look like he was going to make it.”

“It was the most horrifying, terrible thing that could happen to our son, but it happened in the perfect surroundings,” said his mother, Teresa Myhre.

“I feel fine, just like before,” Jordan said. “The only difference is this thing in my chest.”

Jordan Myhre's Pacemaker

He left the hospital with a pacemaker and a defibrillator, along with a diagnosis of Long QT syndrome, a rare heart-rhythm disorder that can cause fast, chaotic heartbeats.

“I can’t believe I made it this long without anything else happening,” said Jordan, a lifelong athlete who said he loves to push his physical limits.

Learning of his diagnosis, Jordan’s older sister had herself tested for Long QT syndrome and discovered she also has it. She believes that his experience saved her life.

As for Jordan, his biggest challenge right now is taking it easy. He takes walks around the neighborhood but thinks the strolls are “boring.”

As for Jordan, his biggest challenge right now is taking it easy. He takes walks around the neighborhood but thinks the strolls are “boring.”

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

Gerry Cook (Left) Thanks His Rescuers

On Aug. 3, Gerry Cook was at Spruce Beach in Elliot Lake enjoying the sunny day with family visiting from down south for the August long weekend. 

Cook, an Elliot Lake resident since 1980, went for a swim, but almost didn’t make it back to the beach.

The 69-year-old Cook says he blacked out while in the water. It was his grandson who first noticed something was wrong because he could not see his grandfather.

Five city lifeguards were recognized at the Jan. 1 mayor’s levee, Craig Roy and Dylan Lees, who performed CPR on Cook, along with Leah deBortoli, Ben Shipman and Christina Ucci. They received certificates from the city for rescuing and resuscitating Cook at Spruce Beach.

Cook also went up front to personally thank the youths for saving his life.

As a result of their actions, the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation recognized the two lifeguards who performed CPR and the EFR firefighters for their efforts and awarded them a plaque for the lifeguards and certificates for the EFR firefighters.

A grateful Cook presented the plaques and certificates to the lifeguards and the firefighters.

“If it wasn’t for the co-ordinated efforts of all you people,” Cook told the group, “I probably would not be here today because it was so close.”