Ron Merle of Clarkson is living proof that CPR begun immediately following cardiac arrest can save a life.
The 74-year old and his wife, Mary, were visiting the Grand Canyon this past March with Mary’s sister and brother-in-law, Leanne and Dick Preston of Hamlin, when Ron went into cardiac arrest on the evening of March 8 while the couple was playing cards in their room at a lodge located along the rim of the Canyon.
Mary called 911 and Dick started CPR immediately. She and Leanne then headed out to meet the ambulance. Leanne spotted a tall young man and asked if he knew first aid/CPR. Amazingly, he did and went to relieve Dick. The young man and Dick moved Ron from a chair to the floor and the young man continued chest compressions for several minutes until the ambulance crew arrived. Once the EMT had taken over, the young man left without a word to return to his family (who, Mary would learn later, was trying to find him).
“He was an angel who just happened to be there,” Mary remembers. “He was courageous enough to do that.”
Ron was taken by a Guardian Air helicopter to Flagstaff Medical Center (about an hour-and-a-half drive by car) where he underwent surgery to put in a stent.
“There was a 100 percent blockage in a main artery,” Mary explains. Additionally, Ron also had a pacemaker put in after his heart stopped two more times during his hospitalization.
He spent two weeks in the hospital and after he was released, he and Mary knew they wanted to find the identity of the tall young man who had saved Ron’s life – both to thank him and let him know Ron had survived.
“Doctors and nurses at the hospital said Ron was very lucky to have survived,” Mary emphasizes. “Without CPR, he would not have made it.”
She explains that the ambulance/EMS crew who responded to the call for Ron at Grand Canyon National Park was able to trace the young man through his grandfather, who had rented the room at the lodge.
The Merle’s young, life-saving angel, turned out to be a 16-year old high school student from Victoria, British Columbia – William Mai, who learned CPR in a physical education class in school. He had received his training just one week before visiting the Grand Canyon.
The two families have since corresponded via mail and email and Mary says the Mai family was thrilled to finally get news that Ron had survived.
In a letter to the editor written to the Grand Canyon News, William’s mother states, “We are infinitely pleased that Ron Merle recovered.” William remains very humble regarding his heroics. His mother noted that during a recent job interview, he couldn’t think of anything when asked if he had ever done anything beyond the call of duty.
William received an “ECC Heartsaver Hero” award from the American Heart Association for his efforts, and his mother says she feels all high schoolers should be required to learn CPR.
She wrote that she plans to re-certify her CPR because, “An unexpected emergency, we now know, can really happen.”
Mary and Ron Merle feel the same way and they, along with Dick and Leanne Preston, are practicing what they preach. Both couples took a three hour CPR/AED class offered in Henrietta recently and Mary says she now feels well prepared to help others who find themselves in the same situation as her husband.
“I would highly recommend it to adults and high school students,” she advises.
Ron is now doing well. He says he feels good, although he gets “a little static” now and then regarding what he eats and does from Mary.
The Merles will travel back to Flagstaff August 1. Their story so impressed the medivac helicopter crew, they have been invited by Guardian Air to take part in its 30th anniversary celebration.
