A reader sent this letter to thank the two women from the Sault who helped him during a medical emergency.
Monday, Nov. 10 was just another day travelling for work. I was flying home from Sault Ste. Marie to Toronto. As usual, the flight was delayed and delayed, but it finally took off and got me home.
After arriving at Pearson Airport in Toronto, the gentleman sitting next to me waited for two very excited ladies. They walked up ahead of me, excited to visit the big city.
I continued walking toward baggage claim but started getting out of breath and needed to stop for a minute. At that point, my work colleague caught up to me and waited with me.
A minute later, I got my breath back and off we went. But for some reason I started getting out of breath again and needed to stop, which was odd. We stopped, I caught my breath again, and we continued on to baggage claim.
When we got there, I sat down and talked with my colleague while waiting for the luggage. My bag came up, so I stood to get it – but I felt very dizzy. I stopped, then decided I should sit back down. I reached for the armrest and was trying to sit when everything went black.
I woke up on a paramedic stretcher, suddenly realizing what had just happened. I had a heart attack.
BUT from what I was told, the two excited ladies jumped into action right away: one started CPR on me, and the other ran to get the AED. They applied the AED and shocked me once.
Apparently, I opened my eyes and started breathing again.
I write this because there is no way in the world I can thank those two ladies enough for knowing what to do and bringing me back to life so I could eventually go home to my wife and son.
So if this message ever reaches those two very excited ladies who got the “big city experience” before even leaving the airport, my wife, my son, and I – from the very depths of our hearts – thank you.
Brian Black
Cobourg, Ont.
ps: If you helped save Brian or know who did, please send a message to [email protected].