If not for six perfect strangers, Andy Kirby may not be here today.
The Calgarian was golfing with friends at the Cochrane Golf Club Sept. 23 when he suffered a sudden heart attack and collapsed on the 9th green.
Kirby was deemed clinically dead. That is, until his friends, nearby residents and golf course staff collectively sprang into action to help the 75-year-old man.
"I'm very thankful, very thankful for how generous and thoughtful people are," said Kirby. "These couldn't be nicer, more generous people just to notice what was going on and to leap into action.
"This probably made all the difference in me being here today."
At the Cochrane EMS Citizen Action Group meeting Jan. 27, the group, along with Kirby, his wife, and members of his family, were in attendance to honour Jayman and Ricki Matlo, Cam Macdonald, Matt Belanger, Lorne Butt and Lorie Campbell for their efforts in bringing Kirby back to life.
The Matlo's were opening the blinds of their Riverview home shortly after Kirby went down, to reveal him laying on the course just outside.
Ricki, a trained former lifeguard and swimming instructor, ran out to assess the situation and began performing CPR.
Lorie Campbell, another nearby resident who was pregnant at the time, also ran out to help.
As people started congregating to help Kirby, Cam Macdonald and his son were pulling out of their driveway nearby on their way to a Taekwando class, when Jayman ran over to alert them of the situation.
"I drove my van around the corner and ran down to start helping," said Macdonald, who is a firefighter with the Calgary Fire Department. "They were doing great CPR — Lorie and Ricki.
"Nobody had thought to get an AED at that point, and so right away I just asked somebody to track one down at the golf course."
Belanger and Butt, who work at the Cochrane Golf Club, tag-teamed to stop plays on the course and retrieve the facility's AED as quickly as possible.
Macdonald continued to help by performing compressions and providing updates to 911 dispatch until an ambulance could arrive, about 20 minutes after the heart attack occurred.
One of Kirby's three daughters, Stephanie, said she learned through a text message from her mother that her father had a heart attack.
"I thought she was kidding at first," she said. "Then I called her and she told me what had happened and that she was on the way to the hospital."
Stephanie, who spoke about the incident and thanked everyone involved in saving her dad at the Jan. 27 meeting, said the actions taken by each person — including Kirby's friends Pat and Marion Stewart, the latter who slapped him in the face to ensure he had not simply fainted — has restored her family's faith in humanity.
"With everything that's going on in our world today... there are no words that do justice to describe my family's heartfelt thanks to all of you for saving a wonderful, kind husband, father, grandfather and friend," she said.
Stephanie added that if it were not for people stepping in to help, and the lengths taken by a local paramedic, there is a chance her dad would not have made it as the heart attack caused a 100 per cent oxygen blockage.
There was no ambulance in the immediate area to respond when EMS was alerted, but a paramedic was waiting at Cochrane Fire Services for one to arrive in order to attend the scene.
"He was waiting for the driver of the ambulance that was being brought in from somewhere else," said Stephanie. "He was late, and so the paramedic was waiting and waiting, and finally said 'I can't wait anymore.'"
According to Stephanie, the paramedic called his supervisor to let them know he was going anyway, and hitched a ride with one of the firefighters.
"He went against the rules, he wasn't even allowed to go," she said, adding that she also has friends who are paramedics that are run of their feet. "It's terrible. There should always be an ambulance here and I don't see why there wouldn't be."
Kirby was admitted to the hospital around 9 p.m. that same evening, where he underwent surgery to implant coronary stents.
It was "touch and go" that evening, said his daughter. But when they returned early the next morning, around 4 a.m., he was awake and breathing on his own.
They were able to pick him up from the hospital the next day.
Kirby said there was no indication of stress or pain in his chest leading up to the heart attack. He felt normal when he woke up that day.
"On the other hand," he said. "I don't remember a thing about that round of golf, so something was going on."
He described the incident as a blessing in disguise as it was later discovered that he had other problems with his heart that required him to undergo a quadruple bypass operation.
He had the surgery six weeks ago and said he is well on his way to making a full recovery.
They kept the scorecard and the ball that Kirby was playing with that fateful day. Now, he's just "itching" to get back out on the golf course.
