This week at Louis Sutter, a Pickleball player suffered a heart attack while playing and went down on the court.  911 was quickly called, but the fellow was in distress and gasping for air with breaths that got less frequent as he lay on his back, fading into unconsciousness.   Two alert players who had rushed to his aid began to apply CPR.  Good thing, too, as it took over 10 minutes before the fire truck, then an EMT ambulance crew arrived.  Their CPR efforts saved his life, said the EMT’s, after the paramedics whisked him off to the hospital after using a defibrillator and then stabilizing him.  His prognosis looked good.  A very scary close call.

A shout out to Violet and Debbie, regular players at Sutter, for their diligence and sustained effort in administering CPR.  Heroes of the day, indeed!

Just a reminder that an emergency of this sort can happen anywhere, especially at locations involving strenuous activity or active sport play, like Pickleball. We recommend you be prepared to help if need be.  If you never have, take a CPR and First Aid training course (at the Red Cross or with the American Heart Association).  Attend again if it’s been awhile.  You never know when you may need to help someone.