For the second time in just four months, a life was saved at a Nanaimo ice rink thanks to the availability of a defibrillator.
Harvey Thien, a participant in Nanaimo's senior scrub hockey program, collapsed unconscious on the bench at the Cliff McNabb Arena in Beban Park on April 9.
Fortunately, a number of retired firefighters, including Ted Greves and Keith MacDonald, were also playing hockey at the time and used one of the recently installed automated external defibrillators at the arena to resuscitate Thien. Thien was airlifted to Victoria, where he underwent bypass surgery and is now recuperating. Paul Walters, a 52-year-old harbour patrol captain, also owes his life to a defibrillator being readily available at the Nanaimo Ice Centre after he suffered a heart attack on Dec. 21.
As an aging community where heart attacks can strike without warning, Nanaimo took an aggressive lead on Vancouver Island in spending nearly $18,000 to put eight defibrillators inside city recreation centres in 2008.
More at: Defibrillator at hockey rink saves another life
Previous Hockey Defibrillator stories:
Defibrillator saves hockey player's life
Hockey Player’s Survival Credited to Defibrillator at Arena
