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Quick thinking, the availability of an Automatic External Defibrillator machine, and assistance from several community members are being credited for saving the life of a Weed man who collapsed last week at a Siskiyou Land Trust fundraiser.
The approximately 100 people who showed up at the Mount Shasta Resort for a slideshow about New Zealand last Wednesday got much more than they bargained for when 83 year old Erv Gross had a heart attack and collapsed to the floor.
“Thank God for the doctors, the defibrillator and the prayers surrounding me,” said 83 year old Erv Gross from his home on Monday, where he’s now doing just fine. “I’ll be forever grateful... and I can’t talk much longer or I’ll start to cry.”
When Gross went down in the crowded room, just as he arrived a few minutes before the presentation began, Peter Mt. Shasta, who was standing nearby, thought he’d banged his head.
“I tried to talk to him, but when he didn't respond I put my hand on his heart and felt there was no beat and that he had stopped breathing,” Mt. Shasta said.
Doctors Jim Parker and Alan Cohn rushed over and immediately began CPR.
Mount Shasta’s Raven Stevens, who was standing directly behind Gross when he fell, immediately called 911.
Several other people with emergency training and cool heads were also present, including Lon Fitton, who took over chest compressions for Parker when he became exhausted, Neil Posson, Carol Winston, and Rick Demarest.
Demarest said Parker looked up at one point to ask if there was a defibrillator in the house, and he and Stevens went to find one.
“I ran to the front desk to ask if they had a defibrillator, and they did,” Stevens said. She quickly ran back upstairs with the device.
The machine had its own verbal instructions on how to get it working and talked the group through all the steps. After it was charged and Parker got the paddles on, they pressed the button.
“He had no pulse. He wasn’t breathing and was turning blue,” Parker said. “This man was very fortunate to get nearly immediate CPR and shortly thereafter the benefit of the defibrillator.”
Parker said after Gross was shocked with the defibrillator, his heart began beating again on its own, but he still wasn’t breathing. A short while later, he began gasping and his color returned.
Quick thinking, the availability of an Automatic External Defibrillator machine, and assistance from several community members are being credited for saving the life of a Weed man who collapsed last week at a Siskiyou Land Trust fundraiser.
The approximately 100 people who showed up at the Mount Shasta Resort for a slideshow about New Zealand last Wednesday got much more than they bargained for when 83 year old Erv Gross had a heart attack and collapsed to the floor.
“Thank God for the doctors, the defibrillator and the prayers surrounding me,” said 83 year old Erv Gross from his home on Monday, where he’s now doing just fine. “I’ll be forever grateful... and I can’t talk much longer or I’ll start to cry.”
When Gross went down in the crowded room, just as he arrived a few minutes before the presentation began, Peter Mt. Shasta, who was standing nearby, thought he’d banged his head.
“I tried to talk to him, but when he didn't respond I put my hand on his heart and felt there was no beat and that he had stopped breathing,” Mt. Shasta said.
Doctors Jim Parker and Alan Cohn rushed over and immediately began CPR.
Mount Shasta’s Raven Stevens, who was standing directly behind Gross when he fell, immediately called 911.
Several other people with emergency training and cool heads were also present, including Lon Fitton, who took over chest compressions for Parker when he became exhausted, Neil Posson, Carol Winston, and Rick Demarest.
Demarest said Parker looked up at one point to ask if there was a defibrillator in the house, and he and Stevens went to find one.
“I ran to the front desk to ask if they had a defibrillator, and they did,” Stevens said. She quickly ran back upstairs with the device.
The machine had its own verbal instructions on how to get it working and talked the group through all the steps. After it was charged and Parker got the paddles on, they pressed the button.
“He had no pulse. He wasn’t breathing and was turning blue,” Parker said. “This man was very fortunate to get nearly immediate CPR and shortly thereafter the benefit of the defibrillator.”
Parker said after Gross was shocked with the defibrillator, his heart began beating again on its own, but he still wasn’t breathing. A short while later, he began gasping and his color returned.
A few minutes after Gross began breathing, Parker said emergency crews arrived from the Mount Shasta Fire Protection District and Mt. Shasta Ambulance.
He was taken to Mercy Medical Center Mt. Shasta and then to Mercy Redding.
Cohn said he was glad he could be helpful in such an intense situation.
“I was aware that this was a life and death situation, but at the same time I knew I was doing what I could to help,” he said.
“As a physician, whenever you hear ‘Is there a doctor in the house?’ you have to respond... I’m just glad there were a lot of people there to help,” said Parker.
Both doctors believe the defibrillator saved Gross’s life.
“Two weeks ago, I’d have bet anything I would never have a heart attack,” said Gross, who owns American Stor-n-loc in Weed and has been a Siskiyou County resident since 1979. “I’m an average weight and I eat healthy; I just can’t believe it.”
Parker said he was so impressed with the AER and its detailed instructions, he is looking into purchasing one for his own office. He praised the crowd for its quick thinking and the response of the emergency responders.
Gross will celebrate his 84th birthday next month.
