Editor:
Your article Runner credits Coasters for life saving CPR (Coast Reporter, April 13) should inspire others to help, it makes my pulse quicken thinking back watching these events unfold that day. However, the events that actually transpired were not what was described in the article.
The best part of a story like this, of course, is that someone received the help they needed and that person is now safe and well. However it is equally important that the people who jumped in to offer that assistance are acknowledged for their efforts. Our RCMP officers, as a group, take a lot of slack. But they frequently deserve acknowledgement and this case is no exception.
The first two people to arrive and offer assistance to the runner were two RCMP officers (constables Tracy Dubnyk and Jacob Joslin) on bicycles; one on duty, the other not. It was these two officers that flagged down the BC First Aid truck and it was the off duty officer the assisted Kellei who started CPR and the two of them that continued CPR. The other officer was in continual radio contact with his dispatch, got the paramedics en-route, and kept the area safe as cars and other runners passed. Dr. Stinson arrived after all this and helped calling ahead to the ER and by monitoring his pulse.
The contribution of the paramedics from the BC Ambulance Service was also disregarded, yet another group that so frequently perform a thankless job. They arrived at the scene last, but arrived with additional equipment and also provided the transportation to the hospital.
As a society we need to hear this type of inspirational story, but for the people involved who jump in and give their all, it's pretty important that their contribution is not lost to an incorrect account of their lifesaving efforts.
Scott Baker
Sechelt
