A Yellowknife man whose heart ceases to beat while playing squash was saved. He owes his life to the people who helped during the incident.
Terry Gray, 48-years old was playing squash at the Yellowknife Racquet Club with his friend Brooke Harker when he collapsed to the ground. According to Gray, his heart went into a bad rhythm and progressed into cardiac arrest.
Harker was the one who started CPR and yelled for help. The Racquet Club employees came immediately on the scene.
Timely action
A person obtained an automated external defibrillator (AED) from another room and attached the paddles on Gray’s chest. The appearance of Gray’s skin started to turn blue. It was a moment when they had to act.
One administered mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The AED later administered a shock. A nurse practitioner, Kristin Richardson who was at the gym, rushed to the scene. After an assessment, she alerted the staff to call for an ambulance and delivered CPR until the arrival of the paramedics.
Healthy heart
Gray was rushed to Stanton Territorial Hospital where he was in an induced coma. After 3 days, he was transferred to Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital where a series of tests were conducted and reveals that his heart is healthy.
Gray now has an internal defibrillator in his heart to keep it beating in case he goes into cardiac arrest. He owes his life to those who helped him when he collapsed.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a course on CPR and AED and for more information, check out these sources:
https://www.wikihow.com/Do-Basic-First-Aid
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automated_external_defibrillator
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cpr/basics/art-20056600