Rescue on the links

Sue Doyle

He went to the Newport Beach Golf Course to hit a few balls Monday, but

left a hero after resuscitating an elderly man who had collapsed near the

practice tee.

John Krueger was tuning up his swing on the driving range with his wife,

Jo, when he heard a call for help over the loudspeaker.

Someone needed medical assistance immediately.

Krueger flew into action -- not a usual reaction for someone without a

medical background. Still, he knew some CPR.

The Kruegers, who are visiting from Tempe, Ariz., found the man

surrounded by a few others. The onlookers were concerned, but hesitated

to step in and help.

The man had stopped breathing, so Krueger knew he had to act fast. He

began cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“He was pretty far gone,” Krueger said. “His eyes were fixed and he was

turning blue.”

Sheila Dickens stood nearby with a first-aid kit, ready to jump in if

Krueger couldn’t continue. Dickens, an Orange resident, works as a sports

massage therapist and knew to check the man’s pulse. Someone else held

the man’s head and another held his hand.

The man started to breathe again, but remained unconscious. He stopped

breathing a short time later, and Krueger started CPR again.

“It was gnarly,” Dickens said. “A lot of people wouldn’t have jumped in

there. I was really proud of him.”

Paramedics arrived and hooked up the man to a monitor because he appeared

to be in cardiac arrest, said Capt. Dave Mais of the Newport Beach Fire

Department.

He said because of the quick-thinking rescuers, the man was in better

condition than they had anticipated.

“Their actions produced positive results,” Mais said. “A lot of times

people don’t step in, but we try to encourage them to.”

Authorities did not release the man’s name. He is being treated at Hoag

Hospital.

Krueger, who works as a financial planner, learned CPR a few years ago

and was happy to be of service. After the rescue, he returned to his golf

game.

“This was an exciting morning,” Krueger said. “It was show time.”

But those few lifesaving seconds had a lasting effect with those

involved. Some of the witnesses reflected on their own families and about

the condition of the man, whose name they did not know.

“The gentleman was in bad shape,” Dickens said. “I have an older father

and would only hope that someone would jump in and do the same for him.”