Watch: Jogger Blacks Out & Hits the Ground. Samaritans Start CPR to Save His Life
With the most popular New Year’s Resolutions being to eat right and be more active, January becomes the month for the highest workout-related injuries. For many, an inflated sense of ability is just as dangerous as inexperience when embarking on a new fitness regimen.
Particularly when it’s been a while since we’ve been active, we tend to believe that we can pick up where we left off. Our bodies, however, work on a ‘use it or lose it’ system.
When we jump into our old routines, we often risk going too fast, taking on too much weight, and damaging the very tissue we are trying to enhance.
When even well-conditioned athletes come across life-threatening problems along the course of their routines, the importance of proper form and attention to our bodies cannot be understated.
Even still, the unthinkable becomes reality and we can only hope that there are people around willing to lend a hand. Gerry Fowle of Grafton, Ohio, is an avid runner accustomed to a 4-mile daily run near his home.
“I felt like I was about to pass out, and I said, “well, I need to get out of the road,'” Fowle recalled. Three miles into his run on July 3 2016 he began to get out of the road but was too late.
Fowle collapsed and was not breathing. Michelle Dostall and Paul Singorelli saw that their neighbor was in trouble and jumped into action.
Dostall, a nursing student, ran to Fowle and began to administer CPR. Moments later a state patrol officer pulled up to offer assistance.
The trio’s efforts were captured on the officer’s dashboard camera.
Fowle was rushed to the University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center, where he was kept in a medically induced coma to keep pressure off of his organs. He’d suffered a heart attack.
Meanwhile his wife, Beverly Fowle, was frantically searching for her husband.
He’d not taken ID with him and she wasn’t sure of his route. In recounting the terrifying moments of uncertainty, she got emotional and admitted that the events of six months prior were still raw, as if they’d just happened.
Since, Fowle has made a full recovery and honored his good Samaritans in a ceremony at the hospital where he was treated. “In order to survive, the circumstances had to be right, and the circumstances were right that day,” Fowle told WJW.
Fowle credits Dostall, Singnorelli, and first responding offer Sgt. Tim Hoffman for saving his life. Since meeting, the Fowles have bonded with the quick-thinking couple over their shared love of horses, and with Sgt. Hoffman over running.
“I didn’t know there was such a caring band of people that live around us,” Beverley commented.
It appears that the efforts made by these passersby not only saved a life, but also foraged a lasting bond with community members.
While resolutions made in line with the new year can be exciting, overall health is what is most important. Get active, but take precaution — and always carry ID.
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