What should have been just another evening of fun recreational hockey for Richard Hebb and his teammates at the Nackawic Arena, quickly turned into a night they’ll never forget.
Halfway through the game, Richard was feeling great, as he and his linemates jumped off the bench and onto the ice. But as he was skating back to the bench for a shift change, he collapsed.
The ambulance was 45 minutes away and it was clear that time was not on their side. Without hesitation, another play raced for the AED that was placed in the rink.
One player from Richard’s team and three from the opposing team tagged each other in and out for 30 minutes as they performed CPR, anxiously waiting for the ambulance to arrive.
The rhythmic voice of the AED guided them through the critical steps. Begin by removing all clothing from the patient's chest. As directed, they removed Richard’s gear and placed the white adhesive pads on his bare chest while listening for instructions from the AED as it analyzed Richard's heart. Again and again, the AED announced Shock advised. Stay clear of patient.
“The game started with us against them, but when I collapsed it turned into one big team fighting for my life,” Richard explained.
When the paramedics arrived his heart became stable, but the race to save Richard’s life was still on as they loaded him into the ambulance and began their journey to Fredericton, where they delivered five more shocks to his heart.
While paramedics were working to keep Richard’s heart beating, his teammates now had another dilemma - they didn’t have his wife’s phone number, so how were they going to contact her?
One of Richard’s teammates remembered that his wife was the Commanding Officer of the RCMP. They made a second call to the number they did know, 9-1-1.
They managed to contact Richard’s wife, and she waited a long 25 minutes for her husband to arrive at the Fredericton hospital. As “code blue” blasted through the hospital intercom, she knew that announcement was for her husband.
At the Fredericton Hospital, he received a clot-busting medication and was stabilized before he was transported to Saint John where he saw a heart specialist. At the Saint John Regional Hospital, they discovered that a main artery to his heart was blocked, and staff worked swiftly to save his life.
Two months after experiencing cardiac arrest Richard was cleared to play hockey again. He joined his teammates for their warmup skate for the last three games of the season.
Richard noted that his four “heroes” who performed CPR on him have become lifelong friends.
“I tried to think of how I could thank them. After talking with them, I realized I could repay them by just being here to say thank you.”
After experiencing cardiac arrest Richard realized how important CPR and AEDs are. He encourages those who can purchase and place an AED to do so.
“AEDs do save lives,” he said.
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