SASKATOON -- Quick thinking from a Saskatoon man helped save the life of a teammate on his slow pitch team who suffered a sudden cardiac arrest during a game - and now he’s being recognized.
Dave Hume was given the Saskatoon Fire Department’s Award of Merit for his role in keeping John Wiebe alive after he collapsed.
"He’s the type of person that we want to see in our community," Battalion Chief Len Protz said after presenting Hume with the award.
Wiebe has had heart problems since contracting Lyme disease years ago, and his first major cardiac event happened when he was having some fun on the diamond.
"I am happy to be here, and I would not be except for several miraculous things on September 3rd during a slow pitch ball game," Wiebe said.
"Dave, my teammate, a 15-year CPR veteran was on hand. I want to give Dave a public thank you and our gratitude for his quick response to my cardiac arrest."
Hume said that once he noticed the signs of a cardiac event his training took over and he went to work.
"I just did what I’ve been telling other people to do. I just started working on him.”
Hume started compressions while other team members ran to a nearby diamond that had an Automated External Defibrillator.
Hume kept it up until the AED arrived, and shortly after that Saskatoon Fire showed up and took over.
Thirty years ago, Hume approached a manager with an idea to train employees in CPR himself instead of paying money to have it handled by a third party.
He has been teaching on and off since then, and on Sept. 3 he put all his knowledge to use for the first time.
"I’ve done this about, I don’t now, many thousands of times on mannequins, but I’ve never done it on an actual human being," Hume said.
Wiebe’s wife, Marianne, hopes that an event like this might encourage and inspire others to learn CPR and how to use AEDs.
"Everyone should be educated in how to do CPR because you never know whose life you’re going to change or save."
