A local rink attendant is being hailed a hero after his fast and persistent actions saved a man’s life at Twin Rinks.
When Larry Manning, who just finished a skate at Twin Rinks, suffered a heart attack, it was because of the timely and calm actions of rink attendant, Ray Martin, that Manning is alive today.
Martin says he was just finishing up his shift Wednesday night when his colleague alerted him that a man was having a heart attack. He dropped everything, grabbed the defibrillator, and ran to the scene.
He says that things didn’t look good at first. AED and first aid training are provided at the rink, and Martin says he didn’t hesitate to put that training to use.
A local rink attendant is being hailed a hero after some tense moments at Twin Rinks, Wednesday night.
When Larry Manning suffered a heart attack, it was because of the quick actions of Ray Martin that Larry is alive today.
Both Ray and Larry join us on @590VOCM live at 7:50. pic.twitter.com/rA8s7X0lP0
— Ben Murphy (@VOCMBen) October 30, 2020
He explains that the defibrillator tells you exactly what to do in that type of scenario. They shocked Manning and continued with chest compressions until an ambulance arrived some 8-10 minutes later.
Martin says there were some tense moments, but the main thing is that he didn’t panic. Within a couple of minutes of the second shock, Manning showed some signs of life. Martin says even though Manning was in a bad state, he felt some relief.
Once an ambulance arrived at Twin Rinks, Manning was taken to hospital where he is still recovering.
The two shared a heartfelt moment live on VOCM when they spoke for the first time since the incident.
Manning says he is a little sore, but would rather be sore than dead. He thanked Martin relentlessly and both men were just happy to be able to speak to each other once again.
Manning is still awaiting surgery and says he feels like he has a second chance at life. But, he expresses that a thank you to Martin is simply not enough.
He says there are no words to try and thank someone for saving a life, but does so from the bottom of his heart, adding that Martin deserves a medal.
In another bizarre twist, Martin revealed that he wasn’t supposed to be at Twin Rinks, Wednesday night, but when a colleague called in sick, Martin picked up what turned out to be a life-saving shift.
