A longtime Pemberton local was honoured with a BC Emergency Health Services (BCEHS) Vital Link Award on Tuesday, July 4, after jumping into action to save his friend’s life last October.
Lennox Davies and Oliver Richman, both 18 at the time, were playing video games at Richman’s home in New Westminster that Friday night when Davies decided to abandon his plans to drive back home to Pemberton in favour of a few more rounds of FIFA.
Earlier that day, the Capilano University student had been packing up to hit the Sea to Sky Highway when Richman, who Davies grew up with in Pemberton, called to invite him over.
The pals had just put down the controllers and turned on the TV when, all of a sudden, Richman started making an unusual snoring sound. “I stood up and tried to talk to him, and there was no response at all,” Davies told Pique last fall. “He didn’t respond to touch, didn’t respond to sound.”
Richman was in full-blown cardiac arrest.
Quickly realizing things weren’t looking good, Davies followed his instincts: call 911, move Richman to the ground, and start chest compressions like he learned in the outdoor program at Pemberton Secondary School.
It worked.
Richman joined about 25 family members, friends and BCEHS staff to watch Davies accept the Vital Link Award in an emotional ceremony on the lawn outside the Pemberton ambulance station on July 4.
BCEHS presents the award to quick-thinking bystanders who skilfully perform CPR during a cardiac emergency, with or without the help of an automated external defibrillator. Award recipients “represent the vital link to a patient’s survival,” explained Kelly Budway, paramedic unit chief at BCEHS’ Pemberton station.
“Lennox gave Oliver the chance of survival because he acted quickly and courageously,” Budway said through tears. “As paramedics and dispatchers, we rarely have the opportunity to reunite with our patients, so this is an honour, to be gathered here today to do this.”
Tayah McKinnon is the emergency medical call taker who answered Davies’ 911 call that night, when she was only about one month into the job. She travelled from Victoria to help present Davies with the award Tuesday.
Davies “did an amazing job,” she said. “I remember counting out to him, and he was counting back. He did that for a few minutes.”
She only learned Richman survived when she received an email about the Vital Link ceremony last month.
“This call was one of the more memorable calls I’ve ever taken, so I’ve always wondered what the outcome was,” she said following the ceremony. “[Call takers] usually don’t get to know, so being asked to be a part of this was really cool. I read what the call was about and it clicked right away. I knew exactly what it was.”
A little over eight months later, Richman is doing well. Since doctors equipped the otherwise-healthy 18-year-old with an internal defibrillator to regulate any irregular heart rhythms, he’s working full-time and playing soccer while spending the summer at home in Pemberton, and hoping to rejoin Douglas College’s basketball team next fall.
Davies, Richman and their families were already close prior to that October Friday night. The two grew up skiing and playing sports in Pemberton—often coached by Richman’s dad Mike, who also happens to be Pemberton’s mayor. One paramedic told Davies the connection “is so different” when the incident leading to a Vital Link Award involves friends versus strangers, but since, their friendship is “kind of just back to how it was,” said Davies.
Still, Davies said he can “play that day back, every second by second” in his head. “There’s always the thought in the back of my head, like, ‘What if it happens again?’”
While Richman doesn’t have any memory of the traumatic event, “The best I can do is be there for the people that do remember it,” he said.
“Obviously, it sucks what happened to me, but honestly I think it’s worse to be in a situation where you see that happening to a friend,” Richman continued. “I think this award is huge. Hopefully it shows other people why CPR is so important, especially for around friends, because you never know who it can happen to.”
As the two friends pointed out, Davies learned the CPR skills that helped him save Richman’s life in an elective course only offered to about 30 students at a time. Pemberton Secondary students need to apply for a spot in the outdoor education program.
“I feel like it should slowly become a necessity in schools, or just in the community to learn CPR,” said Richman. “It’s such an important thing and it can save so many lives.”
