Editor’s note: The following is the story of saving a man’s life with CPR, written by White Center Chamber of Commerce President Mark Ufkes. Ufkes, Imelda Morgado and Brian Daigneault took turns performing CPR on a heart attack victim who collapsed on a White Center street on Dec. 1. On Dec. 7, the Chamber celebrated their 2010 White Center Heroes, and Morgado and Daigneault received awards for their actions. The Herald story about these White Center heroes, along with others, can be found here.

Giving the Perfect Christmas Gift – CPR Training

By Mark L. Ufkes

For me, it took over 40 years for the Christmas gift to arrive. As a boy scout, I took my first CPR class in 1968 and have continued re-certification since. The gift from this CPR training finally arrived this December 1st; when three new friends met on a wet sidewalk in White Center, to use our CPR training to save a well dressed man who was dying of a heart attack.

Imelda got to him first. She found him lying on the pavement as one might pass by one of our homeless, chronic alcoholics. As a passerby noted later, “Someone must love him, look how well dressed he is”. Imelda turned our injured neighbor over to see the dying blue face of someone’s grandfather. As they teach us in CPR, “If they are red, raise the head. If they are pale, raise the tail. But if they are blue, you have pumping to do”

As a nurse and CPR trainer, Imelda immediately began CPR heart massage. He was a solid, stout man. When I noticed Imelda kneeling over him, she was working so hard to push his mighty chest inward. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4 . . .

Others had gathered around Imelda but were afraid to step forward and help. As I arrived, I heard her say “I am getting tired. Is anyone trained?”. “Yes I am” was my firm answer. As an Eagle scout and Scoutmaster, such training is part of our “Be Prepared” motto.

“Ready to switch?” “Yes”

We switched places hardly missing a heart beat, as if we had trained for this moment forever. Pushing his chest was harder than I imagined. But my recent Red Cross re-certification emphasized many hard chest compressions, as fast as possible, as the new CPR creed.

I could hear the Red Cross teacher’s command; “Push hard and fast”. The blue in the victim’s face continued to fade to a light red. “This is working”, I thought to myself. In the growing crowd, Brian confidently voiced his support. “I am ready to take over when you get tired. I am trained too”. There the three of us were, thrown together with our Red Cross CPR training, huddled over this handsome elder, doing our part to try to give him another day of this gift of life.

Brian switched so smoothly that it was beautiful, as the aid car approached. The local fire station crew unpacked and knelt beside us, continuing what Imelda got started; working to save this man.

A heart attack’s worst enemy is our Medic 1 program, a gift we King County voters gave to ourselves many years ago. These specially trained “Advanced Life Support” crews are not normal fire department first responder aid cars. These units, with large “Medic 1” written on the side, are specially-trained heart attack response experts. Their mission is to bring emergency room level life saving technology to a heart attack victim.

We do not have a Medic 1 unit stationed in White Center, like we should, to serve southwest Seattle and north Burien. So there was a delay in the Medic 1 response time to our White Center victim. They did arrive in the second wave of help, and confidently blended into our local fire station team to continue providing CPR.

Within minutes of arriving, the heart monitor went from flat to a steady heart beat. As the victim was loaded into the Medic 1 car, off to the emergency room, one of the Medic 1 responders walked up and asked, “did you provide CPR?’ Yes was the humbled response. “Congratulations, you just saved a life”

Imelda, Brian and I had just given a great gift, and been given one in return; to be able to help save a person’s life. All because we were trained in CPR. This holiday season, resolve to get CPR certified, or re-certified. Like me, you might wait 40 years before someone will need your training. Or just maybe, this afternoon, someone will offer you a gift. They will need you, and your CPR training, to survive a heart attack.

Mark L. Ufkes is the President of the White Center Chamber of Commerce

© Copyright 2010 Mark L. Ufkes. Used with permission by the author.