With no defibrillator on site, North Vancouver grandpa dies near granddaughter’s elementary school

When Chris Collens retired, he fully embraced the role of doting grandpa. Two weeks ago, the 75-year-old’s daughter Michelle asked if he could walk his granddaughter to school in North Vancouver, and he was happy to help. But just steps from the school, tragedy struck.

“I got a call from my neighbour, and my neighbour said who’s the man with your daughter? And I said she’s safe, it’s okay, he’s my dad. She she’s like, no, he’s collapsed and they’ve started CPR,” said Michelle. Her father had gone into cardiac arrest.

Neighbours who jumped in to try to revive Collens assumed there would be a defibrillator, also know as an AED, just up the trail at Dorothy Lynas Elementary.

“One ran to the school office asking for the AED, and unfortunately was told there wasn’t one there,” said Michelle.

Chest compressions weren’t enough to save Collens. While his daughter will never know if a shock from an AED could have re-started his heart, she believes it would have been an important tool for the people trying to save him.

“If that AED was there, that would have been the optimal scenario in order to give hope and to give a chance,” she said.

There are defibrillators in all seven North Vancouver secondary schools, but they’re not in elementary schools in the district. After the death of her father, Michelle Collens is determined to change that.

“I have called our school board chair to be able to say I want to champion this together with you. I know we can be advocates, I know we can make this happen. I have heard positive responses, but I do want to see action,” she said. “And I don’t want someone to tell me it’s a cost factor. These devices are less than $2,500.

St. John Ambulance is also advocating for AEDs in all elementary schools.

“We maybe think perhaps the demographic wouldn’t run into a cardiac arrest, but at the end of the day, you’ve got parents, you’ve got employees, you’ve got teachers all accessing the schools. So we never know when this is going to happen, when an emergency’s going to hit,” said Kelly McNeil-Sproxton with St. John Ambulance.

She says properly done CPR combined with use of an AED gives people in cardiac arrest a much better chance at survival, and the devices should be in all public spaces, where they can be accessed quickly.

“The hope is we never have to use one, but its always better to be prepared and have the tools and people who know how to use them than to have no tool and face a situation like Michelle did sadly with her father, said McNeil-Sproxton.

“These are essential pieces of equipment just like fire extinguishers, and I’d really love to see them in our schools,” added Michelle.

She isn’t waiting for the district to act. In lieu of flowers at her dad’s service, Michelle asked mourners to donate to a fund to purchase an AED for her daughter’s elementary school. And she’s advocating for them to be installed district wide.

“Every time a friend reaches out to say what can I do, how can we help, I’m so sorry for your loss, I just say be AED aware. Ask your PAC president where your AEDs are. And if they don’t have one, ask why. And ask how can we get one installed,” said Michelle.

She says she’s determined to make this her father’s legacy.

”My dad, he’d be proud,” Michelle said. “He would be proud to say that we helped someone. My mom has heart disease, and if that device is going to be there when she walks her granddaughter to school, then that’s what I want.”