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A regular Zumba class could have turned tragic for a Kelowna resident if not for the quick thinking of employees at H20 Adventure + Fitness Centre.
At the end of an afternoon Zumba class in November, Kelowna resident Sharon Flanagan went into cardiac arrest and collapsed. Thankfully, three lifeguards and other H20 staff members then sprang into action.
“I don’t remember anything,” says Flanagan. “I looked up at the clock near the end of the class and thought, I am just going to grab my stuff before I pick up my daughter from child minding, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in the Kelowna General Hospital. It is a scary situation to hear a doctor say that if I didn’t have an AED on me within ten minutes, that would have been it.”
Sharon Flanagan and the team that saved her. (Photo Credit: YMCA Okanagan)
Four staff members rushed to the scene, with Scott Fellhauer immediately beginning CPR. Alyssa Christie, Marte Volk, and Braeden Wallace made sure that Flanagan was getting oxygen and put the automated external defibrillator (AED) into action.
“The AED prompted us to shock right away,” said Fellhauer, YMCA lifeguard of over six years. “We continued to do CPR for a while and the AED prompted us to shock again.”
Flanagan’s heart had several ups and down, but it eventually returned to its normal rhythm and she started to breathe on her own. Ambulance soon transported her to hospital. “It is really emotional,” said Flanagan. “If it weren’t for this really awesome group of people, I wouldn’t be here. I don’t think there is anything I could possibly say or do to ever repay them and I think they should all be so proud of themselves.”
H20 Adventure + Fitness Centre. (Photo Credit: Google Maps)
The staff involved were honoured with a commendation from Lifesaving Society at an annual awards banquet in June and received a standing ovation from the audience.
The Heart and Stroke Foundation says that use of CPR and AEDs in the early stages of cardiac arrest improve survival rates by 75 per cent. The YMCA says that situations like Flanagan’s show how important it is to have AEDs available and for everyone to know basic First Aid and CPR.
You can learn more about related courses at the Kelowna Family Y or H20 Adventure +Fitness Centre by visiting their website or calling 250-491-9622 for more details.
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