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Vernon hockey heroes bring fallen teammate back to life

Five hockey players administer CPR and AED to fallen teammate, resuscitating him; the five were given provincial award

If David Hampton was a cat, it's safe to say he's enjoyed two of his nine lives.

In those two cases, 11 months apart, Hampton nearly died of cardiac arrest. He was brought back to life by people who knew CPR and with the help of an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) to resume enjoying his pursuits.

An avid skier, hockey and soccer player, Hampton, 71, was skiing the face of one of the chairlifts of SilverStar Mountain Resort Feb. 28, 2022 when, he said, "the lights went out."

"I just dropped. I don't remember anything," said Hampton, a retired software engineer, at a special ceremony Monday, June 24, at Vernon's B.C. Ambulance Station. "Because I was skiing under the chair, somebody got to me fairly quickly. SilverStar Ski Patrol brought me back to life."

Fast-forward nearly 11 months and the reason for Monday's special ceremony.

Hampton was playing lunch hour drop-in hockey at the Priest Valley Arena on Jan. 24, 2023. He said nothing was wrong when he got to the rink, but about 10 or 15 minutes into the shinny game, he started feeling fatigued. Very fatigued.

He made his way to the bench where a player looked at Hampton and asked if he was alright. 

"I think I'm going to faint," recalled Hampton and, again, it was lights out as he slumped over on the bench and began turning blue.

Play was immediately halted and springing into action were fellow shinny players Bob Outhwaite, Mitch Nystrom, Jeff Moore, Ron Burton and Scott Ross.

Nystrom coordinated the emergency response. Burton called 911. Moore retrieved the arena's AED, and Outhwaite and Ross – both trained in first aid – alternated chest compressions. Outhwaite also provided rescue breaths as needed. 

Hampton regained consciousness briefly, then became unresponsive, prompting further CPR. Ross utilized the AED and administered a shock.  Hampton was responsive when critical care paramedic Zach Clarkson, and primary care paramedics Lauren Cave and Brittani Sagert arrived on the scene and took over. Hampton was taken directly to Kelowna General Hospital for an emergency coronary intervention.

Hampton has fully recovered and is back playing hockey two-to-four times a week in winter, skiing when he gets a chance, and indoor soccer once a week in winter, twice a week in summer. He was on hand at the ambulance station to watch his rescuers receive a Vital Link Award from B.C. Emergency Health Services (Burton could not attend the ceremony).

"These brave and quick-thinking individuals in this area talk to emergency call takers (dispatch for the North Okanagan region is done out of Kamloops), begin CPR, and utilize the AED," said Clarkson. "These are what we call the vital link to a patient's survival."

More than 60,000 Canadians, said Clarkson, suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year. So when there is a sudden arrest, a bystander administering CPR and an AED increases a person's chance of survival up to 50 per cent.

"Learning CPR is a truly selfless gift to give to loved ones or strangers. And the call takers are there to guide you through it. We stress that people try to orient themselves about CPR. You never know when it will make a critical difference in someone's life."

In Hampton's case, it's made a critical different twice to the point he was able to thank his rescuers in person.

"They're wonderful," he said of his hockey heroes and of the ski patrol nearly a year earlier. "I have a deep appreciation for anybody who takes the time to learn this skill. It's crucial."

Nystrom was so motivated by the hockey incident to organize a CPR class at the Vernon Recreation Centre that drew 25 people.

 



Roger Knox

About the Author: Roger Knox

I am a journalist with more than 30 years of experience in the industry. I started my career in radio and have spent the last 21 years working with Black Press Media.
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