IT WORKS

By Kevin Haas RRSTAR.COM Posted Jan 11, 2012 @ 04:56 PM

RICHMOND — Authorities say the quick use of CPR and a defibrillator saved the life of a 57-year-old Poplar Grove man who collapsed Tuesday in the stands of a high school basketball game.

The man, whose name was not released, suffered a heart attack just before half time of the Richmond-Burton vs. North Boone girls basketball game and collapsed into the bleachers around 7:15 p.m., Richmond Township Fire Protection District Chief Rick Gallas said.

Several people immediately came to the man’s aid, said Belvidere Police Department Deputy Chief Dave Ernest, who was in the stands to watch his daughter, Malli, a junior on the team.

Ernest performed CPR until Richmond-Burton High School athletic trainer Julianne Stewart used an automated external defibrillator to deliver a dose of electrical energy to the man’s heart, Gallas said.

“It was amazing. He just came to,” Ernest said. “Everybody was there coaching, helping and doing anything they can.”

The man was transported to Centegra Hospital in McHenry, where he is recovering.

The chances of successful recovery increase the faster the response.

“When we teach CPR and we teach AED, we say that quick action is what makes the difference in saving a person’s life,” Gallas said. “This person’s life was definitely saved by quick action.”