Just under a year ago, I was out running with the Wild Colonial Running Group. This is a group that runs together all the time. I usually have the opportunity to go out and TROT way way behind them once a month or so. And I mean way behind them, as the majority of them are faster then I am on my bike.....
Lets call the man kneeling "DOC" and the man on the laying on the ground "SAM". I want to protect the identity of the man who was ill. I am sure for those of you that were there that night you know who I am talking about, but for the rest of the world meet: DOC and SAM...
I have know DOC since I was a nursing student in 1997 and have had the pleasure and honor of working with him many many times throughout the years. It was actually, DOC and another MD that suggested to me, that I would be good at and might like to work on a higher level of nursing care floor when I was a staff nurse on a general med/surg unit. Which then lead to me doing what I do now! Thanks DOC!!!
I had never met SAM before, actually I really do not even remember seeing him ever before. I think it was his first time ever running with this group and I believe it was only my second time running with them. I later learned that SAM was married and had a set of twins and a toddler at home. He had already run 14 full marathons.
As I came up upon the scene, I was not sure what was going on and I noticed that DOC was kneeling next to SAM. DOC looked at me and said that SAM had what some of the people there thought was a seizure and went down. After accessing the situation and SAM, I only felt a very very weak and extremely slow pulse and his breathing was very poor (what we in the medical world call agonal breathing). DOC and I preformed CPR on SAM while waiting for the local rescue to come and take him to the hospital. I was not sure when the rescue was pulling away if SAM was going to make it or not. I actually truly did not believe he would...and if he did what kind of quality of life would he have???
Some of the group returned to the running store where the run is started each week. Other continued on the regular route. Myself and two other ladies took a shorter route back to the store.
SAM's friend was a little farther ahead of this group of runners and did not know that SAM had gone down. We had no way of knowing how to contact his family so one of the runners called the local police station in SAM's home town so they could let his family know what had happened.
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I received word later that night that SAM had been stabilized and was being transferred to the intensive care unit. I did not expect what happened next. This has never happened to me before when it came to taking care of patients...but it really hit home and the whole night came to a crashing halt and I was feeling very overwhelmed emotionally. I have done CPR enough times in the hospital as a nurse taking care of patients. And even out in the field when I have come up upon an accident or some drowning at the beach. But this was the first time it has hit home to me on a personal level. Even though I did not know SAM prior to this incident, I felt a connection to him almost immediately.
SAM was taken, by our local resuce, to the level one trauma center and the ER staff were amazing.....After the ER/medical staff was able to stabilize SAM, he was admitted to the cardiac intensive care unit, where he was well cared for. I was able to go visit him and his family several times while he was there. SAM had no idea who I was, nor would I have expected him to. I also had the opportunity to meet SAM's family: his wife, his mom and dad and his brothers and sister and other family members.
Over the next several days I was able to meet most of them. It was amazing to watch how strong they were for each other. I would come to tears every time one of them would hug me and say thank you for doing CPR on SAM...I would say, "No problem, that is what I am trained to do." but what I would not say is "WOW this is the first time I had the opportunity to see someone who was not actually my patient recovering after I have done CPR on them or that how I felt so emotionally involved."
SAM did well and is recovering. Several weeks, after he was discharged from the hospital, there was a seminar on Athletes and Cardiac Issues. To see SAM and his wife there was so awe inspiring. I, THANK GOD, everyday I was able to be part of this man and his families journey to recovery.
Over the next several months I would get emails from SAM's wife, letting me know how he and the family was doing and she would send pictures of SAM and the boys oh and the chickens.
In Dec 2011, I had the privilege of teaching a CPR class to several of the runners of the WC group and guess who was there!!!!! YES!!!! SAM!!!! WOW WOW WOW.....I was so happy to see him. I was given the blessed opportunity to teach CPR to a man whom CPR help save his life. At that time, SAM gave me a gift, his children had made a coffee mug for me to say thank you for helping their dad. The boys had decorated the mug themselves and wrote a note of thanks and their names on it....
Those of you who know me guess what I did when I opened the gift...YES I CRIED!!!!!
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| Thank you, Boys, I love the mug! |
So now 11 months after that fateful evening run: Yesterday, I was able to go to the house of SAM and his wife and teach a CPR class to his family and neighbors. Even his older two boys (who are 9 y/o) took the class. The boys were amazing in the class. They asked great questions and really wanted to learn. They were thrilled to be able to demonstrate the skills on the CPR manikins. I think they were two of my best students ever!
I am thinking now, what an HONOR to know this family, what a BLESSING to be able to help someone, who did not know me or I know them, in their time of need. I am so great full that I was able to be there, on that fateful evening run.
What an HONOR and BLESSING to be a SLOW RUNNER, as I was able to be there for SAM and his family.
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