A typical Thursday night at the Dogwood Pavilion usually involves cards, coffee and conversation among friends.
But one evening last January was far from typical.
Dolores Forseth, a member at the 50-years-and-older recreation centre, was playing canasta with her usual group when, suddenly, she collapsed.
“I said something like ‘I don’t feel right,’” she said.
After that, the 79-year-old’s head fell to the table and she was unconscious.
“They said my eyes rolled back and my mouth hung open. No pulse. No nothing.”
Luckily for her, Sheri Greenwood, a senior centre assistant, just happened to be walking by at the time.
“When she said, ‘I don’t feel good’ — as soon as I heard that, I thought ‘Oh, no.”
Greenwood quickly jumped into action, moving Forseth to the floor so she could begin CPR. It did not take long for her to realize that more drastic action needed to be taken.
The centre had recently received an automatic external defibrillator — a portable device that checks the patient’s heart rhythm and can send an electric shock to try to restore a normal rhythm — and Greenwood asked someone to bring it over and help her set it up. It only took one shock for Forseth’s pulse to come back.
“It was lucky that we had it,” Greenwood said. “It is the most amazing tool. It is one of those things that I think should be available to everybody.”
She continued performing CPR until paramedics arrived to take Forseth to the hospital, where she recovered.
For Forseth, there is no doubt that Greenwood’s actions saved her life.
“I was very lucky to have Sheri,” she said. “I told her, ‘You’re my fairy godmother.’ She is a lovely person.”
These days, Forseth said she is feeling much better. The doctors installed a pacemaker, which can be monitored remotely, and she has even started visiting Dogwood Pavilion again.
Greenwood’s efforts were recently recognized by the city of Coquitlam and St. John’s Ambulance, which honoured her with a plaque at a recent council meeting.
She said the incident last January is a good reminder of the importance of knowing CPR and staying calm in a stressful situation.
“Every little bit helps,” she said. “Even if you haven’t done CPR, even a little bit of knowledge, whatever you do, helps.”
@gmckennaTC
