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HILL AIR FORCE BASE — Doctors are pretty good at identifying those who are at risk of a heart attack, but cardiac arrest, is another story: It can happen to anyone at anytime.
It happened to a worker at Hill Air Force Base a few weeks ago, but co-workers saved his life. Fortunately for Bruce Jarvis, a defibrillator was recently installed at the shop where he works at Hill Air Force Base, so when he collapsed out of nowhere, his co-workers knew what to do.
Jarvis works in a machine shop at Hill Air Force Base making airplane parts, and he collapsed at work on Oct. 17.
"I feel very blessed. Very grateful," he said. "I don't remember a thing. That morning to me was just a blank."
His co-workers remember what happened, though.
"We ran to him and he was unresponsive, struggling to breathe," said Patrick Mulligan.
What Jarvis' co-workers didn't know is that Jarvis, right there on the floor, was going into cardiac arrest. But they remembered they had recently gotten a defibrillator in the shop, ran to get it and started working on Jarvis.
"You're looking at him, and you're saying ‘Come on, Bruce. Come on.' You know? And it was hard," said Chuck Ecker, a co-worker.
Paramedics took Jarvis to the hospital, and doctors told him that his co-workers — and that defibrillator — probably saved his life.
"We had a miracle happen here," Mulligan said.
Denise Jarvis remembers the first time her husband finally opened his eyes at the hospital.
"He looked at me and said, ‘There's my sweetheart,'" she said. "I mean, he basically, he did die, and they brought him back."
Now, her sweetheart is doing well. He has a pacemaker-defibrillator combo in his chest, but, he's alive, and can't wait to see his buddies at the shop again.
"I want to go up and shake everybody's hand and tell them thanks, personally," he said.
Jarvis lost all his health insurance benefits when the contractor he worked for was sold to another company. An account has been set up for him at any America First Credit Union.*
*ksl.com has not verified the accuracy of the information provided with respect to the account nor does ksl.com assure that the monies deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account you should consult your own advisors and otherwise proceed at your own risk.>
