Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- Kevan Elkins thanked off-duty nurse Cameron Connelly and firefighter Curtis Hutchinson for saving his life.
- Connelly and Hutchinson performed CPR and used a defibrillator after Elkins collapsed at an American Fork gym.
- Intermountain Health honored the first responders with challenge coins for their heroic actions.
AMERICAN FORK — Kevan Elkins was visibly emotional and appeared to have difficulty finding words as he stood in front of the firefighters, paramedics and nurse who saved his life on Nov. 1 after he collapsed at the gym.
"I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be here — if they hadn't been there," the 39-year-old man said.
Elkins said he was really lucky that he had people next to him who had the right training. He met the nurse and firefighter who jumped in to help at the American Fork Vasa during an event on Thursday where the two heroes and other first responders who helped that day were honored with challenge coins from Intermountain Health.
"I know you guys do it for a living, but you didn't have to that day. I'm beyond happy you had the training, and you got me back. Thank you," he told Cameron Connelly and Curtis Hutchinson.
Connelly, an emergency room nurse at the American Fork Hospital, told him, "You look a lot better than when I last saw you," as she embraced him. She had been sitting at the gym near Elkins for less than five minutes when she saw the man drop in a mirror and immediately went over.
Hutchinson, a firefighter with Pleasant Grove, saw what was going on and decided with Connelly that they should call for help. He helped her confirm that Elkins' pulse was gone, and she began CPR.
"I lost you three times, and we got you back four," Connelly said, noting that they used a defibrillator at the gym once to bring him back.
I lost you three times, and we got you back four.
–Cameron Connelly, emergency room nurse
Hutchinson said the dispatcher probably wasn't happy with him because he went into action rather than listening to their script, telling them he had work to do.
"This really is something that anyone could have done and should have been able to do," he said, saying it only takes a little bit of education.
He told Elkins he's really happy things worked out, adding that Elkins "came back swinging" and he had to pin Elkins down, telling him it was fine.
Connelly encouraged others to take the two-hour CPR training — she said if she wasn't there, she would hope someone else who had the training would have been available to step in.
Tim Dunkley, the battalion chief on shift at the time with the American Fork Fire Department, said they were dispatched to help Elkins at 10:32 a.m. and arrived just four minutes later. Typically, he said they arrive, CPR is in progress, and the patient isn't breathing — this time it was different. Elkins was "rolling around" wondering what had happened and questioning whether he even needed to be taken to a hospital.
Dunkley said they assured him he had been dead and needed treatment.
"Kevan hit the lottery that day having some trained folks there," he said.
Dunkley said for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests, like this one, there is around a 10% survival rate, and that rate drops with each minute it takes for paramedics to arrive. He confirmed that without the help from Connelly and Hutchinson, this story could have a different outcome.
Jason Wilson, CEO of the American Fork Hospital, said it takes courage for nurses to stand behind the big red emergency sign ready to help or to rush to emergency situations instead of running away. He said heroic acts like this one happen every day; sometimes they are big, and sometimes they are little.
"It sure is nice to know that sometimes the people around you are heroes incognito," he said.
Dallas Rasmussen, the emergency room department manager, explained that the challenge coins Intermountain Health gave out come from a military tradition to commemorate special events and strengthen bonds. He said the Intermountain challenge coin can strengthen bonds between medical staff at hospitals and the emergency responders they work with who have a "shared commitment to serve the community with excellence."
