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'Citizen Heroes' honored  Share
In an emergency, the difference between life and death is sometimes measured in seconds. Dennis Sicars, Sheri Graff, Dennis Sutkowski and Hans Schulte probably didn't want to think about that when they rushed to save a man who collapsed last month at Cardinal Fitness in New Lenox. The only thing they knew at that moment was to get his heart beating again. That is, after they realized he wasn't joking and really had collapsed. The man identified as ''Andy'' has recovered from the May 31 episode. His four rescuers were honored by the New Lenox Fire Protection District last week as Citizen Heroes. ''Andy'' did not attend the event.
Presenting engraved plaques to the foursome, Fire Chief Jeffrey Swanson noted that their quick action and willingness to get involved made the outcome a happy one. ''It's that moment of activity that makes the difference between life and death,'' he said. Sutkowski said later that he had been working out next to ''Andy'' and ''kidding around with him.'' ''Then he just collapsed, and I thought he was joking,'' he recalled. But when ''Andy'' didn't get up, and Sutkowski said he heard a sound ''like he was snoring,'' he realized that the situation was serious. ''I'm an EMT, and back then I was taking a class to become a paramedic, until I found out I was too old (over 35),'' he added, so he did have knowledge of what to do next. All four of the Citizen Heroes sprang into action, administering cardiopulmonary resuscitation, followed by a shock with Cardinal Fitness's Automatic External Defibrillator (AED). ''I've never had to do anything like that before, and I hope I never have to do anything like that again,'' Sutkowski said. But would he? ''Oh, absolutely, in a heartbeat.'' Dennis Sicars, who works in the Service Department at Currie Motors in Frankfort, admitted that the experience was frightening. ''I was little panicky,'' he said. ''It was difficult. You don't want to see anyone pass away.'' The plaques the foursome received during the June 15 meeting of the fire district board commended their lifesaving actions. ''In recognition of your heroic efforts in assisting a citizen who collapsed at Cardinal Fitness on the morning of Sunday, May 31. Your quick response to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation before an Automatic External Defibrillator would be applied for the victim recognizes you as a Citizen Hero. Your actions were, no doubt, the difference between life and death.'' Karen Haave is a reporter for Russell Publications.
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