'They brought me back': Mount Prospect honors trio for lifesaving effort
What began as a simple racquetball game at a Mount Prospect gym turned into a matter of life and death for a retired Chicago police officer.
Fortunately for Chicago resident John Trahanas, he had a lot of help from friends Phil Bolander and Bob Holl and LA Fitness employee Matt Hulseberg, who teamed up to bring him back from the brink.
The Mount Prospect Fire Department recognized the three men Aug. 17 with a Life Safety Award for their efforts in providing CPR and automated external defibrillator assistance to Trahanas.
"They brought me back ... from death," Trahanas said.
Mount Prospect fire Deputy Chief Tom Wang said the rescue occurred at approximately 9:05 a.m. June 15.
Trahanas, 69, was walking off the court at the fitness club when he collapsed.
"We were warming up, and he said, 'Do you want to play a game?' So we played a game," Bolander said. "He beat me, and he walked to the door and he just started falling backwards. And I caught him and I brought him back and started CPR."
Hulseberg, who works the front desk at LA Fitness, called 911.
Then Bob Holl, Trahanas' friend of 60 years, arrived and joined in administering CPR.
"Something needed to be done," Holl said. "He was fading."
Hulseberg brought out an automatic external defibrillator and applied it to Trahanas' chest. The shock from the AED brought Trahanas' heart back into rhythm.
"After the shock, he started doing these agonal breathings," which happens when someone who is not getting enough oxygen is gasping for air, Hulseberg said.
"I had never seen anything like it," Bolander said. "Because he was basically laid out. He wasn't breathing. His eyes were partly opened. His mouth was open. When he laid down, there was nothing. Then I did (CPR). And then there seemed to be some type of a gasp."
Firefighters arrived at 9:13 a.m. and were able to continue CPR.
"When we applied our cardiac monitor, they found that John's rhythm was back to normal," Wang said. "He was breathing and he had a pulse back."
Trahanas was taken to Northwest Community Hospital, where he spent 10 days in recovery.
"Every time you think of a first responder, you think of firefighters, police officers, and paramedics. But I think a first responder can actually be anyone that is trained that can help us out in any situation," Wang said.