Port Hardy resident Sandra Campbell is the definition of a true local hero after she helped save a man’s life who was having a heart attack at a fast food restaurant.
After walking into A&W in Port Hardy to get something to eat, she stopped immediately at the sight of a fisherman, who was in town visiting from Terrace, laying on the floor.
The man’s face was blue and he was surrounded by a group of people.
After swiping inside the man’s mouth to see if he had anything lodged in his throat, Campbell immediately got down on the floor and started doing chest compressions, trying her best to save his life.
After a minute or so, she said she saw “the colour start to come back to his face from a dark blue.”
She added when she started doing the compressions, “my heart was beating like crazy, and I was scared — but it just so happened I took my courses in CPR and it paid off.”
Campbell was able to keep the man alive until paramedics arrived at the scene to take over from her.
One paramedic noted if it wasn’t for Campbell’s quick action on the restaurant floor, the man may have died before they were able to get there.
After the entire ordeal was over, Campbell noted the man was flown to a hospital in Victoria and he went on to make a full recovery.
She said his whole family called to thank her, “and they said they can’t wait to meet me and give me a big hug.”
She added this was the first time she had ever had to use CPR, and it was “pretty amazing — I didn’t do it for the recognition, I did it because he needed help. I’m glad I was there for him.”
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