Heroes: Obukan Judo Dojo, Inc.

Do you know anyone who leaves home thinking "Today I'm going to be a hero." Most of us treat heroism like art -- we don't really know what it is but we know it when we see it.

I'm Obukan Judo Dojo, Inc's Webmaster. I've been a member of the club for nearly 35 years and am now a 4th degree or Yodan rank of black belt. I'm usually the oldest person working out at our club.

A man called me several weeks ago after seeing our web site. He told me that he was a college judo team member many years ago in Oklahoma and had carried on for several years after college as a serious competitor who earned his brown belt. But, he explained, that was a couple of decades ago. We talked several times and exchanged email. That night in November I met him in person on the mat at our dojo.

45 minutes into our practice I could see that Phil was having trouble getting his breath after a very spirited Randori session with a black belt. I broke up what had become real competition, pulled him aside to visit and suggested that if he wanted to continue he and I would do a very easy practice so that he could start knocking the rust off his skills. As we talked, I looked away for a second. When I turned back Phil was face down on the mat. I didn't know if he was going to demonstrate how macho he was by cranking off a dozen judo pushups or what. When convulsions started and he began turning blue, I had my answer. I got no pulse in the wrists and very, very little in the carotids.

I turned him over to start CPR and shouted for Julie, another Yodan rank black belt, Registered Nurse and head of Emergency Room nursing in a large downtown Portland, Oregon hospital. She came over and said she felt a very, very thin pulse. CPR and 911. Dick, a firth degree of black belt and our club's Coordinator of Instructors, saw that the CPR activities were being well taken care of and so made exactly the right decision. He sprinted for his cell phone and stayed on the line with 911 giving directions and relaying information until the EMT's arrived while he had the other instructors move 30 or 40 judoka from the area. Rob, a brown belt as well as a Registered Nurse working at Adventist, joined our group as other instructors took over the job of bowing judokas out and explaining to them what had happened. Chester, a black belt and an M.D. (Anesthesiologist no less) appeared and took over the breathing part of CPR while Julie and Rob took turns at chest massage. I continued to coordinate and kept the gentleman's legs way up with my arms and hips. He is one big dude I thought and his legs were getting heavier by the second..

Unfortunately, our guest died. Right then and right there in spite of our best efforts. No pulse. No breath. I know what that's like since I have had two serious heart attacks (okay "Myocardial Infarctions" or "MIs" to you medical types).

No one was willing to concede defeat. Then a true lifesaver appeared on scene -- Deborah "Debbie" Harris, the Recreation Coordinator for Portland Parks & Recreation at Peninsula Park Community Center in North Portland where we work out. She ran from her front desk to the gymnasium, saw the problem and delivered her facility's Automated External Defibrillator (AED) kit to Rob. Without that device I doubt whether Phil would have lived. If he had survived, the doctors I spoke with at the ER later explained that he would have been undergoing memory retraining for a very long time. Angels appear when we really need them and ours was named Debbie Harris. Thank you Debbie on behalf of all of us.

Rob opened the AED and attached the electrode pads to our dead judoka's chest. "Shock required" said the machine after doing its analysis of the lack of heart rhythm. Clear the area. Done. (Those little machines are worth their weight in gold.) CPR. Still serious problems: patient turning very blue and not breathing. Unresponsive. Shock two. Patient breathing but really crummy EKG. CPR resumed.

I remembered the events of my second heart attack. Patients really can hear what is happening around them. I remember the tech in the ambulance telling his partner up front that he had lost his patient. I heard lots of sirens as the tech told the hospital I was no longer breathing; that he couldn't find a pulse and that my EKG was a very flat line. I clearly remember trying to tell him not to give up because I was still there. With that in mind I continued to call to our patient to "Hang on." and "Stay with us." He did. I suspect his guardian angel stepped in as we worked.

After what seemed like an eternity, I could hear the gymnasium doors open, looked up and saw Dick bringing the EMT's in. We cleared an area for them to work as we transferred CPR and breathing activities to them. We pulled the Portland Parks & Recreation's AED as they hooked up theirs. Still the same terrible line on the screen. Another shock required, the machine prompted us. This third shock generated enough stability so that Phil could be moved. (In all, we learned that the AMR Emergency Medical Techs had to administer three shocks before they arrived at nearby Emmanuel hospital's E.R.) The EMT folks lifted the patient as I moved the gurney under him. They raised the gurney and, oops, one side hadn't locked and the patient started rolling off. Everybody grabbed and got the procedure back on track. The AMR folks headed out the door for the ambulance. Code 3 to the hospital a mile or so away.

Throughout all this my wife relived flashbacks to my last heart attack. There was nothing she could do except pray and she led several spectators in doing just that.

As everybody started to decompress we asked the big question: What did we know about our newest member? Not very much as it turned out. I was the only person who knew his full name. His application/registration form was not of much help. It gave us home and office phone numbers but no one answered. Home and office addresses were not of much value at 8:00 PM when no one answers. A family member was finally found because Julie kept trying numbers in Phil's cell phone until she found a relative.

I stopped in later to see our newest member in the E.R. at Emmanuel Hospital later that evening. He was awake and appreciative. The doctor in charge of everything explained to the patient that he did technically die (my word not the doctor's). The doctor made it very clear that he would be dead now if his new found judo friends had not pitched in to help. Dick on the phone with 911, Julie and Rob on chest massage; Debbie Harris at the front desk who provided the AED; Rob using this Portland Parks & Recreation defibrillator kit; Dr. Chester on breathing and me on legs. Bystanders doing the prayers. This almost sounds like a rock group. It functioned much, much better than many music groups I've heard.

What else? We all thanked Debbie at the front desk who heard the commotion and produced the AED. Without her quick thought and prompt action all of our work could easily have failed to produced a functioning human being with no memory damage. Thanks also to Roy Pittman, Portland's premier and Hall of Fame wrestling coach. When he arrived he immediately produced another AED and a mask to help with the breathing. We had an AED running, but the mask was, literally, a lifesaver -- it made continued breathing for the patient easier and more effective. American Medical Response deserves very high marks for their prompt and professional work when they took over from us. Superb people never hesitate to reach out and help.

The moral of this story is very simple. The Emergency Room doc told us that a physical probably would not have highlighted the heart problem of our newest judoka-to-be. We found later that he jogs, rock climbs, does triathlons and exercises regularly. My observation that night was that he looked very fit.

Here's why our club has been the premier Judo facility in the Northwest since 1926. The minute this man signed his membership papers, paid his initial fee and stepped on to our mats he became a member of our family. Four of the people working on him in the dojo and the Portland Parks & Recreation folks didn't even know his name. It didn't matter. A family member was down and needed help. We all responded. If you're thinking of doing judo and are looking for the best club in the United States come to Obukan. Join our family. You'll be expected to contribute your efforts and skills but you will become a member of a family like no other. The closest analogy I can find is the USMC, so Semper Fi Obukan and thanks to all who made a life possible.

If you don't have an automated external defibrillator (AED) handy, hold a fund raiser or whatever it takes to buy one. You are not always going to have a Debbie Harris standing in the wings with one.
Have someone who is a regular at practice on hand and trained in using the AED. The training is straightforward and the machine is easy to use.
Everyone in your club should not only know how to do CPR they should be proficient in it. It you have not had a refresher course recently hold one on a workout night so that everyone can attend. Then hold regular practices, even if it occasionally cuts into your workout time.
If someone talks about chest pains or heaviness or weight on their chest stop the world. Pull them aside. Sit them down. Get professional help. It is better to be embarrassed by a gastrointestinal episode than to miss a for real cardiac episode.
Don't wait for the EMT team to arrive. Start CPR as soon as the problem is identified. Because we did this our man is still alive and suffered no memory loss.
Our member appeared to be in excellent shape and talked about a history of regular exercise, so don't assume that people who exercise are immune from problems. Remember James Fixx and Alberto Salazar as well as other runners who appeared to be in outstanding shape. What happened to our man could happen to anyone.
Speaking of men -- remember that women and those of every heritage are not immune or exempt. Heart attacks are an equal opportunity killer. If anyone complains of the classic "Reader's Digest" symptoms do something now.
Black Belts: You are not only teachers but overseers. If you see someone working out and having serious breathing problems take them aside, slow them down and offer to do a light workout until they get their breath back.
Don't assume that someone lying face down on the mat during a workout is just getting ready to do some pushups.