An 11-year-old hero who helped save his dad’s life was honoured Friday with an award from the BC Ambulance Service.
Arthur Speirs was jogging with his father David last March in Vancouver when the 65-year-old dentist suffered a cardiac arrest and collapsed onto the pavement.
“I just knew something was wrong,” Arthur said. “He was on his face, he was bleeding from his nose from when he fell. He was making noises.”
The young boy ran to the nearest house looking for help, and luckily found Lisa and Simon Edgett. Simon had taken a CPR course years earlier, and began trying to resuscitate David as Lisa called 911.
“I barely remembered anything,” Simon said in a statement. “The dispatcher on the phone was so clear and concise. I just did what he told me to do.”
Paramedics eventually arrived and took David to hospital, where he stayed for seven days before regaining consciousness.
For helping to save his life, the BC Ambulance Service handed Arthur, Lisa and Simon its Vital Link Award, an honour handed out to heroes whose good deeds raise awareness about the importance of CPR.
Health officials say a cardiac arrest victim is four times more likely to survive if he or she receives CPR from a bystander, but the basic procedure is only performed in about 15 per cent of cases.
Following the near-tragedy, the Speirs and Edgett families have become close friends, and Arthur was inspired to take a CPR course.
“I don’t want to go through that again,” he said.
The BC Ambulance Service responds to between 2,400 and 2,800 cardiac arrest calls each year. Fewer than 12 per cent of victims survive.
