Thankful for the automated external defibrillator at Valley Sports Arena in Concord are (l to r) hockey buddies Stephen Rutledge, Brian Martin and T.J. Umina with Joseph Cruzen, the rink’s Zamboni driver.
By Ed Karvoski Jr., Contributing Writer
Hudson resident Brian Martin, age 59, follows a regular exercise routine including cardio, weight lifting, and an hour playing pick-up hockey year-round Sunday mornings with longtime friends at Valley Sports Arena in Concord. There, he suffered sudden cardiac arrest the Sunday of last Thanksgiving weekend. He’s thankful that the facility is equipped with an automated external defibrillator (AED). His hockey buddies used the AED to save his life.
“We skated real hard that day and I was feeling great,” Martin recalled. “Afterward, I was sitting in the locker room and just fell over. The guys thought I was joking around, but I wasn’t. There were about 20 guys and all were involved somehow. It was a team effort.”
They range in age from 40s to 60s and reside in several communities. Among the hockey players is Dr. Eric Holstein of Orthopedic Surgical Associates in Chelmsford.
“Dr. Holstein says hockey is a great sport for guys our age because you slide if you fall and hit the ice,” Martin noted. “Whereas, if you fall playing basketball, you hit the court and could get swollen ankles.”
Another of the hockey players is T.J. Umina of Concord, who was sitting across from Martin during the medical emergency. Familiar with the facility, Umina yelled for someone to get the AED from the other end of the rink. They followed the AED’s verbal instructions.
“Brian Rodgers did mouth to mouth and I did chest compressions,” Umina relayed. “Then the machine got thrown into the group of us in all the chaos. After telling us that it was analyzing the heart rate, it beeped and said, ‘Stand back.’ It administered a shock and he started breathing again.”
None of Martin’s lifesaving team was trained to operate an AED, Umina noted.
“I heard they’re easy to use, but had never used one and didn’t know it gives verbal instructions,” Umina acknowledged. “We did it correctly amid a lot of chaos. And we reacted pretty quickly, about three or four minutes.”
“Speed is everything,” Martin said. “Afterward, I checked a YouTube video, demonstrating how simple an AED is to use. That’s why I’m an advocate for this. Every public building and school should have an AED.”
Martin was transported by ambulance to Lahey Hospital and Medical Center in Burlington because of its Landsman Heart and Vascular Center. Surgery was performed and a stent inserted by cardiologist Dr. Christopher Pyne. Martin met and spoke with his surgeon a couple hours after the life-threatening incident.
“I thanked the doctor for saving my life with the stent, and he said, ‘Don’t thank me. Thank your hockey player friends because they did it all.’”
Martin went for two weeks of cardiac rehabilitation at Marlborough Hospital. In addition to returning to his exercise routine, he improved his diet to be more heart healthy.
“My weight does go up and down,” he acknowledged. “Even though I’d been exercising it off, this time it caught up with me.”
Martin now visits cardiologist Dr. Daniel Carlucci, chair of medical specialties at Reliant Medical Group. He practices at its Southborough and Worcester offices. Two months after the incident, Carlucci offered him good news. Martin could start playing hockey again as of Jan. 24.
“I was a little nervous at first, but the guys were great,” he said. “They were all glad to see me back, shaking my hand and back-slapping me.”
He’s also following up with his primary care physician Dr. Anupam Mathur of Hudson. Martin credits his quick recovery to the support of his hockey buddies, as well as his wife Jean, and sons Peter and Tom.
The lifesaving incident was covered on Fox WFXT-TV by reporter Blair Miller including an interview with Lt. Bill Whalen of the Concord Fire Department, a first responder on the scene.
“You only have seconds, not minutes, to avoid brain damage,” Whalen explained. “Our hope is that all public places have defibrillators and proper CPR training. It makes a huge difference.”
Also among Martin’s lifesaving team was Stephen Rutledge, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Dimeo Construction Company based in Boston, Hartford and Providence.
Martin added, “The week after my attack, Steve bought defibrillators for all the current Dimeo sites.”
For potentially lifesaving information, visit heart.org/CPR.
Photos/Ed Karvoski Jr.
