By A.P. Crawford, 5/5 Editor (ap.crawford@skipatrol.ca)
Members involved: Mike Nicol, Ann Elliott, Don Powell, Rob Docherty, Ernest Ogunleye and Scott Boyson (Lakeridge staff) (CSP Kawartha Zone)
At 7:50 p.m. on Saturday, February 4, 2023, at Lakeridge Ski Resort near Oshawa, Ontario, a 43-year-old father was skiing with his 12-year-old son. As the man was skiing up a slope the tops of his skis caught on the slope, causing him to fall on a level part of the run, face forward and with a considerable amount of force.
Seeing what happened, concerned skiers gathered around the lifeless man and his distraught son. Scott Boysen, a ski-lift supervisor employed by the resort responded when signalled by bystanders. He immediately radioed his location and the condition of the patient (vital signs absent and cyanotic) to the patrol and then began administering CPR.
Ann Elliott was first patroller to arrive on scene, assessed the patient and then continued CPR. Don Powell arrived just after Ann and managed the patient’s airway. Rob Docherty prepared the oxygen and bag-valve mask for Don to use on the patient. Ernest Ogunleye had the AED ready. Mike Nicol managed the scene and called EMS, providing necessary information to the dispatch officer.
After having administered CPR for a minute Ann began to feel the patient’s chest move and he started breathing although it was shallow and laboured. Don and Ann continued to speak to the patient, attempting to arouse him and coaching him to breathe. Their efforts resulted in the patient’s breathing becoming more stable and his level of consciousness slowly increasing.
The patient was secured to a backboard and transported to the patrol hut and the patrollers continued to monitor him as his condition improved. EMS was briefed on the mechanism of injury, the patrollers’ actions and the patient’s current condition. When they met with the patient he described himself as being disoriented. As he was being loaded into the ambulance he asked to speak with his son. The son then remained with the patrol until his mother arrived at the resort.
The time elapsed from when the patrol received the first call to when the patient started breathing was approximately two minutes. Due to their actions the patient is alive and well and a 12-year-old boy still has his father.
In June 2023 this team of patrollers was recognized by the zone with the Eric Nystedt Humanitarian Award and in September they were recognized nationally with the John D. Harper Lifesaving Award. Congratulations on a job well done.
(l-r) (absent Scott Boyson, Lakeridge Ski Resort staff)
(Photo by Greg Dell’Agnese)