It was a chilly December evening that was drawing to a close at Minoru Aquatic Centre. Lifeguard Kai Favrholdt was standing between the main pool and the smaller learning pool, and with just five minutes to closing, the 21-year-old was about to wrap up another non-eventful day at work.
9:55 p.m -Leap of faith At 9:55 p.m. on Dec. 18, 2013, Favrholdt heard someone shouting for his attention at the shallow end of the main pool.
Over the course of the next four minutes, a harrowing moment would put Favrholdt and several other lifeguards in a time warp that saw them execute a series of manoeuvres that would eventually save a life.
The man shouting was a friend of Simon Tsang, a young senior who, for the past 16 years, frequently swam at the pool. Tsang was keeled over being held by his friend.
"As I was watching the pool I heard someone shouting at me from the shallow end. I saw there was an older gentlemen and he seemed distressed," said Favrholdt.
The mild-mannered lifeguard saw that Tsang was having trouble breathing. Time slowed down in his mind and he assessed the situation; in a matter of seconds he determined he needed to enter the pool.
"He didn't look good. He wasn't breathing well and his face was a little pale. He definitely didn't look alright," said the Kwantlen Polytechnic University psychology student.
In fact, Tsang was having a heart attack and suffered a sudden cardiac arrest.
A sudden cardiac arrest is the failure of the heart's electrical system. Heart attacks - where blood flow to the heart is impaired - may cause cardiac arrests. When the heart's electrical system fails, blood circulation stops and the brain loses oxygen, resulting in unconsciousness and eventually death. Favrholdt jumped in the pool and began abdominal thrusts. Soon, another lifeguard, Mitchell Beavis, jumped in to help pull a now unconscious Tsang out of the pool as a third lifeguard, Leah Wait, took hold from above.
Simultaneously, a fourth lifeguard was calling 9-1-1. Wait then realized Tsang wasn't breathing.
"Right away we determined our roles. I was doing chest compressions, Leah was doing breathing," said Favrholdt, adding it was the first time he had performed cardio pulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a person. Beavis ran to get an automatic external defibrillator (AED) device.
9:56 p.m -Staying alive It was now seconds after 9:56 p.m. and in the midst of a second round of compressions (30 beats then two breaths) is when Beavis applied the AED. "Compressions are at 100 beats per minute - if you're listening to the beats to the song Staying Alive, that's how fast you should be doing it - so 30 compressions is very quick," explained Wait. The 26-year-old recreation student at Langara College said they had to dry off Tsang and make sure he wasn't laying in any water.
"Everything was very automatic. We knew what our roles were because we practised so many times," she said.
9:57 p.m -To the beat It was now approaching 9:57 p.m. When the AED was turned on, it took about 10 seconds to check for a heartbeat. The devices don't shock a patient unless there is a pulse (no matter how slight it
may be). None of the lifeguards knew if the device would activate because they didn't check for a pulse - which is now protocol in first-aid CPR as it avoids the rescuer becoming confused with their own pulse and expedites more necessary first responses like breathing and compression. It was now 9:57 p.m. and 30 seconds. "At this point we were hands off and the AED takes over," said Favrholdt.
Nearly lifeless, Tsang still had a pulse. The AED voice commanded then guided the lifeguards through the process. It alerted that a shock was advised and notified the lifeguards to activate the charge and not touch the patient. Tsang was shocked. Favrholdt then continued compressions.
"The shock essentially reboots the heart and then you have to continue doing compressions to make sure the heart gets into a regular rhythm," explained Wait.
9:58 p.m -Second shock Now, just past 9:58 p.m., Favrholdt continued with another three rounds of compressions and the AED device indicated it would shock Tsang one more time, again advising Favrholdt and Wait to step away from the patient.
9:59 p.m -Simon saved At 9:59, in an incredible and seemingly impossible four minutes, BC Ambulance Service (BCAS) paramedics arrived as the second shocks went through Tsang.
"They were here really fast," said Wait. Favrholdt said he passed Tsang to paramedics after 22 compressions in the fifth round. At this point paramedics attached a much more robust AED device to Tsang's chest. He was then taken away in an ambulance.
Tsang survived and appeared healthy and happy at a day of recognition for the lifeguards on April 4 at the aquatic facility.
"I have come to the Minoru pool several times a week for almost 16 years and my cardiac arrest happened five minutes before the pool closed. I am very lucky that it happened here and I had the help I needed right away. Thank you to everyone who helped save my life," Tsang told his audience via a BCAS news release.
Months later, the scene is still very vivid in the lifeguards' memories.
"It weighed on us pretty heavily," said Wait. It was the first time any lifeguard in Richmond had utilized an AED device. For their efforts Favrholdt, Wait and Beavis were commended by the BCAS with its Vital Link Award.
