The man would not be alive if not for the immediate action of the rescuers. For Lindsay Hickmott, all she remembers from his hockey game is sitting on the bench and getting ready for his next shift.
His only memory was waking up in an ambulance with difficulty breathing and wondering what happened.
Saving a life
After 3 weeks, Hickmott was standing in Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service’s Hall 1 along with 2 teammates. They were shaking the hand of the fire chief and listened to the story on how he survived to skate again.
It was still early during the game in the first period when Hickmott took what would be his final shift. As he headed up the ice, Hickmott suddenly slumped to the ground. One of his teammates, Ed Griffioen who was on the bench saw Hickmott trying to hold himself up with his stick but collapsed. A defenseman of the team, Kirk Holt saw Hickmott collapse who though his teammate stepped on something.
When his teammates checked on Hickmott, he was struggling to breathe and moaning. Hickmott said that he was going to be sick and his eyes suddenly rolled back and had no more pulse and ceased to breathe.
Timely action
Hickmott was moved out of the ice and CPR was started while a teammate retrieved the AED of the arena. After an analysis of his heart, the device delivered a pulse of energy. The electricity delivered a bolt, but a pulse was not restored.
As Griffioen and Hold continued with CPR, the firefighters arrived on the scene. An AED was attached to Hickmott and another shock was delivered and a “sketchy” pulse was restored.
Upon the arrival of the paramedics, they loaded Hickmott to an ambulance.
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LEARN MORE
Learn how to help by enrolling in a course on first aid and CPR and for more information, check out these sources:
Mayo Clinic – First Aid and CPR Basics: Essential Skills for Emergencies
WebMD – Automated External Defibrillators (AED) Treatment: Techniques and Guidelines
Wikipedia – Automated External Defibrillator (AED): Understanding Life-Saving Technology