Dick Malin of Vancouver is what you would call a “gym rat”. At 79-years old, he still works out at the gym 4 to 5 days a week. So when he went in for his workout on January 2nd, he thought nothing of it. Malin went over to the stationary bicycle and started to exercise. And that is where things took a turn for the worse. Malin doesn’t remember anything that happened that day; he doesn’t even remember arriving at the gym. But luckily for Dick, Peter Harrison was there and is helping Dick remember. Peter Harrison has been CPR certified since he was 18, and has been volunteering at the Red Cross, teaching everyday citizens how to perform CPR.
Harrison was finishing up his workout when his wife frantically called him over. Malin was unconscious, his feet still strapped into the stirrups of the stationary bike. Not wanting to hurt his spine or back, Harrison just stayed with Malin, monitoring his pulse and vitals while bystanders went to get help. Suddenly, Malin stopped breathing. Harrison knew he had to do something. With the help of others, they got Dick out of the machine while Harrison performed CPR. Malin was taken to the hospital where he had to spend three days in a medically induced coma. He’s made a full recovery and has a pacemaker implanted in his chest. But perhaps the scariest part of the ordeal is that doctors could not figure out why he went into cardiac arrest. Regardless, Malin is just so grateful to even be alive, and Peter Harrison is the reason for that. As for Harrison, he believes this situation can be a life-lesson for everyone. “The more people that have CPR, the more likely we are to have outcomes like this,” he says.
