All Dwight Wittal remembers is pulling up to First Avenue in Martensville in his 1966 Dodge Coronet.
“I was nauseated, and that was the last thing I remember. The next thing I remember was getting loaded into the ambulance," the 69-year-old said.
His heart had stopped. Fortunately, this had happened in front of Wrench Fitness, which has an Automated External Defibrillator. The owner and a patron came to Wittal’s aid with an AED and shocked him once, according to Medavie Health Services West.
“Without that he wouldn’t be here today. We owe you a life," said his wife, Margaret, at an event held by Medavie on Wednesday highlighting the fact that the use of AEDs has saved three lives in the past three weeks in the Saskatoon area. Wittal agreed to release his name publicly to spread the message that AEDs save lives.
“We feel that AEDs are like fire extinguishers and should be in every building as cardiac arrests can occur at any time in any place,” director of public affairs Troy Davies said in a news release.
On May 24 paramedics responded to a 79-year-old man who went into cardiac arrest playing basketball at Zion Lutheran Church in Saskatoon. He was shocked once on scene by the AED and brought back to life.
On June 8 at the Nutana Legion a 74-year-old man was attending a wedding and collapsed while dancing. Staff immediately applied the AED on site and shocked him once. He was awake and talking when Paramedics arrived on scene.
More than 1,000 local businesses are registered with the Heart Safe Program.
A business with an AED can register by visiting www.saskatoonheartsafe.com or by calling 306-374-SAFE.
