Editor's Note: An article on Neil McKay's experience appeared in the Jan. 1 edition of the St. Albert Gazette.
December 3, a Tuesday, was pretty much a normal day on Tache Street. At the St. Albert Curling Club, one of three addresses of Tache Street, Tuesday was just as normal. In the evening the early men's draw was done and the late draw was past the halfway point. It wasn't a miracle that I was at the club curling as I do that twice a week.
It was a miracle that I was there when my heart stopped and not at home or anywhere else with no one around. It was a miracle that on the next sheet was Edmonton firefighter Roy Penner and he sprang into action. It was also a miracle that club worker Jessica Hoekstra was working her first shift and that she's a Registered Nurse. She also sprang into action. Together with their training and the defibrillator unit at the club, generously donated by Milt and June McDougall, Jessica and Roy got my heart going again. Meanwhile someone had called 911 and the ambulance arrived to take over.
I'm alive today because all these miraculous factors lined up, but especially because of Jessica and Roy. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm sure if you ask they'll say they were just doing what they were trained to do and that was their job. Maybe so but what a job they did!
If you know them please take a minute and acknowledge what they did. They will always remain superheroes to me.
Neil McKay, Cardiac Arrest Survivor, St. Albert
