20 Volunteers Perform CPR On Man

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Weedygarden

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20 Volunteers Perform CPR On Man In Grocery Store For 96 Minutes Until Paramedics Arrived
February 18, 2018

When a man had a heart attack in a grocery story in a remote town in Minnesota, 20 people lined up and performed CPR on him for over an hour and a half until paramedics arrived - and he survived.

The town of Goodhue, Minn., has a population of less than 1,000. The town does not even have a traffic light.

Howard Snitzer, 54, was heading to buy groceries at Don's Foods, when he crumpled to the sidewalk, suffering a massive heart attack.

The grocery clerk called 911, and the only customer in the store, an off-duty corrections officer, rushed to Snitzer's side and began performing CPR. Across the street, the owner of a body shop heard the commotion and hurried over.

As news spread, the numbers grew. The team of first responders in Goodhue is made up entirely of volunteers. In total, about 20 pairs of hands worked to the point of exhaustion to save Snitzer's life in a CPR marathon that lasted for 96 minutes until paramedics arrived.

"We just lined up and when one guy had enough, the next guy jumped in," Roy Lodermeier said. "That's how it went."

When the paramedics finally arrived via helicopter, they witnessed an astonishing scene. Mary Svoboda, a Mayo Clinic flight nurse who flew in on the emergency helicopter, said "it was unbelievable. There were probably 20 in line, waiting their turn to do CPR. They just kept cycling through."

After 10 days, Snitzer was released from the hospital -- miraculously healthy, and incredibly grateful.

"I feel like I have a responsibility to them to live the best life possible and honor the effort they made," Snitzer said.
 
It's amazing he didn't suffer any brain damage or broken ribs.

It's also very odd that they have corrections staff but no law enforcement with portable AED's? No volunteer ambulance service with a defibrillator and heart monitors? I have been to some amazingly rural areas that had both of those things. You might wait 20-30 minutes for volunteer EMT's to show up in an older ambulance, but they have those resources available.
 
It's amazing he didn't suffer any brain damage or broken ribs.

It's also very odd that they have corrections staff but no law enforcement with portable AED's? No volunteer ambulance service with a defibrillator and heart monitors? I have been to some amazingly rural areas that had both of those things. You might wait 20-30 minutes for volunteer EMT's to show up in an older ambulance, but they have those resources available.


A defibrillator is a good thing to have, one of our neighbors has one and a couple are RN's.
 
It's amazing he didn't suffer any brain damage or broken ribs.

It's also very odd that they have corrections staff but no law enforcement with portable AED's? No volunteer ambulance service with a defibrillator and heart monitors? I have been to some amazingly rural areas that had both of those things. You might wait 20-30 minutes for volunteer EMT's to show up in an older ambulance, but they have those resources available.

I wonder how remote this community is? I looked on a map and it is midway between Rochester and the Twin Cities, but not on the main road. My hometown is smaller than this community, with a population of around 800 and it is not close to any interstate highways or freeways and certainly not that close to a larger community like Rochester or the Twin Cities where emergency help could be dispatched.

I wonder if an AED is on the list of equipment to acquire or if it will be now?
Goodhue Minnesota on a map.JPG
 
I wonder how remote this community is? I looked on a map and it is midway between Rochester and the Twin Cities, but not on the main road. My hometown is smaller than this community, with a population of around 800 and it is not close to any interstate highways or freeways and certainly not that close to a larger community like Rochester or the Twin Cities where emergency help could be dispatched.

I wonder if an AED is on the list of equipment to acquire or if it will be now?
View attachment 4296
Dang, Weedy, we are on the same wavelength. I posted nearly the same type of post, was going to start a new thread but didn't want to sound like I was complaining. Right. The next largest city is only 14 miles and 20 minutes from that little town.
 
Last time I saw that happen there were more than 20 of us, the ambulance got lost and didn’t show up for an hour and a half and he was pronounced dead. We all knew he was dead before we started, he had a major heart incident and bled out. Can’t stop though TIL help arrives.
 
I have taken CPR training a few times. I often wonder how many people could really perform CPR if they had to? I do know that not everyone could, even after having training.
it comes back pretty quick. Over the years they have changed the rhythm and the ratio to breaths but we found we remembered quickly. The key was to keep one person in charge so it wasnt pandemonium
 
it comes back pretty quick. Over the years they have changed the rhythm and the ratio to breaths but we found we remembered quickly. The key was to keep one person in charge so it wasnt pandemonium
I have read about certain rhythms being used to regulate the compressions.

I was thinking about this. The town where this happened, Goodhue, is like many small towns in America. These small towns have come together for decades to work to have what they need in the event of a crisis or a problem. Many small towns have volunteer fire and rescue teams. They participate in ongoing training and fund raisers to improve and help the people of their community.

My home town banded together decades ago to create a volunteer fire station. They also created their own power plant and their own phone company, which has now expanded into a few communities in South Dakota. It is still an independent phone company. The power plant was recently torn down, due to its age and because they have had power from the dams on the Missouri River in South Dakota. Any time the power went out from the larger plant, someone would go to the local plant and turn that plant on. People usually were without power for only a few minutes, until recently.

These are the kinds of communities to live in. People help each other and come together for the common good. These are the kinds of places to live in a SHTF situation. Many people in small towns have large gardens and can and freeze their produce. Many people still have horses and raise various animals.
 
This reminds me of a time about 15 years ago, when I was one of several law enforcement officers chaperoning 50 of our Explorer Scouts (young, upcoming kids, between 16-18 years old, who want to become cops) on a road trip through California. We stopped our cars at a viewpoint at Yosemite, looking at Half Dome. A 55 year old guy along with his family got off a bus and collapsed in front of us from a heart attack. Myself and 30 other Explorers did CPR on this guy for nearly an hour, because this is what we are trained to do. I would not stop until we had advanced medical professionals arrive, even though I knew in my heart that this guy was gone. His wife and children were in tears as we worked on him. I will never forget a doctor who passed by us, took a quick look, and told us not to waste our time because he was dead, then he walked away. I will never forget the faces of his family when this idiot doctor made that statement. Yes, he died, but I needed to give his family hope, and more importantly, I needed to teach these kids to NEVER give up!
 
I will never forget a doctor who passed by us, took a quick look, and told us not to waste our time because he was dead, then he walked away. I will never forget the faces of his family when this idiot doctor made that statement. Yes, he died, but I needed to give his family hope, and more importantly, I needed to teach these kids to NEVER give up!

Not all medical people are that insensitive. One of my colleagues had a twisted bowel. She went in for surgery and they removed more than she could live without. I knew that we need X amount to be able to live. She remained in a coma or maybe was sedated after her surgery. A few of us went to see her and one of the nurses on the floor talked right in front of her about how she was never going to make it, blah, blah, blah. She didn't make it, but those kinds of things are never said by someone in front of the soon to be deceased and the family without it being done in a very careful manner.
 
To be honest, the guy only verbally identified himself as a doctor. For all I know, he could have been a doctor in engineering, but regardless, when you say you are a doctor, people automatically listen to you, very similar to when someone says, "I am a policeman." Some people just need to remain silent I guess.
 
I wonder how remote this community is? I looked on a map and it is midway between Rochester and the Twin Cities, but not on the main road. My hometown is smaller than this community, with a population of around 800 and it is not close to any interstate highways or freeways and certainly not that close to a larger community like Rochester or the Twin Cities where emergency help could be dispatched.

I wonder if an AED is on the list of equipment to acquire or if it will be now?
View attachment 4296


This sounds like a very helpful but woefully unprepared community.
 
This sounds like a very helpful but woefully unprepared community.
My thought was that they will probably get one now. Yes, too late now, but would be an important device to acquire for the community. Maybe they had one at the station, but no one thought to get it?

I worked in a school that did a fundraiser to acquire one. I no longer remember what we did to fund raise for one, maybe bakesales?

Schools, churches, stores and more could be equipped with them. And like CPR, people can be trained to use them.
 
I had one CPR save when I was on the ambulance. Without the defibrillator she would have just died. She only lasted a couple more weeks but she got to say goodby to her family.
 
This reminds me of a time about 15 years ago, when I was one of several law enforcement officers chaperoning 50 of our Explorer Scouts (young, upcoming kids, between 16-18 years old, who want to become cops) on a road trip through California. We stopped our cars at a viewpoint at Yosemite, looking at Half Dome. A 55 year old guy along with his family got off a bus and collapsed in front of us from a heart attack. Myself and 30 other Explorers did CPR on this guy for nearly an hour, because this is what we are trained to do. I would not stop until we had advanced medical professionals arrive, even though I knew in my heart that this guy was gone. His wife and children were in tears as we worked on him. I will never forget a doctor who passed by us, took a quick look, and told us not to waste our time because he was dead, then he walked away. I will never forget the faces of his family when this idiot doctor made that statement. Yes, he died, but I needed to give his family hope, and more importantly, I needed to teach these kids to NEVER give up!


Great story Hava, your a good person.
 
I responded to a 911 call at an out-of-the-way office building in the middle of the night for a woman having a heart attack. It was a crazy night and I was the only available unit. I arrived in the area, found the building and had to run up and down hallways searching but eventually I found a woman on the ground next to her cell phone. She was about 55 years old and apparently worked alone. She did not have a pulse or air exchange so I grabbed my micro-shield and went to work. CPR can be exhausting even if you are in good physical condition. I worked on her until the paramedics arrived and found me, perhaps 4-5 minutes (felt like 45 minutes). They hooked her up to the defibrillator which showed a light pulse. They started giving her air and we got her into the ambulance. My shift supervisor showed up and said "She dead?" I confidently said "Nope, I brought her back". He said "Good job, now get back to work". Just then the ambulance called out that she coded again, she was DOA at the emergency room. I never again made a comment at a medical call. Ever.

Another time I found a woman passed out buck naked in an alley who had choked to death on her own vomit. Again, no pulse or breathing. I pushed the dumpster next to her out of the way and started working on her too. I wiped off as much puke as I could but still, was never so happy to have a micro-shield in my life. Even with it I had to stop and puke once. Paramedics arrived quickly and she made it. Later I was told she lost a little bit mentally, but just a little bit. Plus I fractured a rib. We investigated her case extensively but never got anywhere and she had no memory whatsoever of the night. All we know is that she went out to have some drinks with her friend and at some point of the night she went missing. Her rape kit was negative and she had no unexpected physical injuries. Her Mom sent me thank you cards at the department for a number of years and then like the rest just faded into a long filed away case report.
 
Has a 60'ish year old guy from Mexico, who apparently liked to eat raw pork. I received a call of a "full arrest" in the 1200 block N. Main Street and arrived within seconds. Dispatch advised paramedics were also enroute.

10 minutes of CPR and well beyond the 3-4 minute normal paramedic response time, I asked our dispatch where the heck the fire department was. Well, they were told 1200 block S. Main Street, so once they arrived and saw nobody, they went back to their station and continued eating dinner (typical hose draggers!) Well, 18 minutes later, they arrived to take over CPR and I assumed the poor gentleman had died.

About 6 months later, I was invited to an awards ceremony by the *** ******* ******* Fire Department and was advised the guy actually made it. They found out he had trichinosis in the brain, which stopped his breathing mechanism. A week in the hospital with the correct medication and he was fine.

This was one of those feel good situations that made us keep doing what we do best.
 
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@Weedygarden sounds a bit like the community where we live

The beat they gave us last CPR class was 100 bpm ... think the beat from the song Stayin Alive
It seems too fast to me.

STAYIN' ALIVE
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man, no time to talk
Music loud and women warm,
I've been kicked around since I was born

And now it's all right, it's OK
And you may look the other way
We can try to understand
The New York times effect on man

Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Feel the city breaking and everybody shaking
And were stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive
Well now, I get low and I get high
And if I can't get either, I really try

Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
I'm a dancing man and I just can't lose
You know it's all right, it's ok
I'll live to see another day

We can try to understand
The New York times effect on man
Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive

Feel the city breakin and everybody shakin
And were stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive

Life going nowhere, somebody help me
Somebody help me, yeah
Life going nowhere, somebody help me
Somebody help me, yeah. Stayin' alive
 
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