How to save a life

It was a regular Thursday morning at Stephenville Dome.

An over-50 game of shinny was taking place on the ice surface below, while Stephenville Dome manager Ross White sat in his office, working on some scheduling. He heard an alarm - a signal something could be wrong. Peering down from his office window, he saw a group of men assembled in the players box. To the far right he saw that facility's automatic defibrillator case was broken open.

"I knew there was something immediately wrong, so I went down," said Mr. White.

He arrived at the players box to see a gentleman lying on the floor, unresponsive. Hockey players Monty Drake and Brian Roberts were administering CPR. He noticed the defibrillator was there, but none of the Dome's trained staff had yet been there to use it.

"He made a couple of gasps for air," said Mr. White of the time the men were delivering CPR to the gentleman. "But then that was it. Then he lost his pulse."

He said the atmosphere was tense, and without much thought he picked up the defibrillator and began to get ready to use it.

"It's not difficult to use. The machine tells you what to do," he said. "It's kind of foolproof."

Once Mr. White put the machine's pads on the gentleman's chest, he said the machine began to communicate to him, telling him step by step what needed to be done.

"It told me that he had no pulse, that he wasn't breathing, and to prepare to shock him," he said. "Then it told me when to shock him."

Mr. White said he received an immediate response from the gentleman.

"He gasped for air and regained consciousness, actually."

An ambulance was called and soon arrived to bring the gentleman to Sir Thomas Roddick Hospital, where he received treatment.

For Mr. White, that Thursday at work will be a tough one to top.

"This is the first time I've ever dealt with something life threatening," he said. "I've patched broken arms and cuts in the 23 years I've been in the stadium. This is not something I'd like to experience again if I don't have to - and I don't mind saying that."

Mr. White, and other employees of the Dome, were all trained to use the defibrillator, partly donated to the stadium by a local resident.

"Randy Alexander got it all going with the difribulator. He donated proceeds from one of his hockey tournaments and then the town paid for the remaining amount."

Once the gentleman was taken from the building by paramedics, Mr. White said he returned to his upstairs office, sat back down at his desk, and began to shake.

"It was only then I realized the severity of what had just happened," he said.

The Georgian spoke with the gentleman's spouse last week. She said he was doing well and asked that his name not be released.

She said the family is very thankful to the staff of the Dome and to the man's hockey team.

reporter@thegeorgian.ca