Quick action at fitness center saves man's life

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Chris Powell
  • 82nd Training Wing Public Affairs
SHEPPARD AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) --  March 9 is a day that will forever be etched in Elmer Bicoy's mind.

Not because he was winning a racquetball match like usual, but because the 69-year-old suffered a cardiac arrest and nearly lost his life while playing a game at a fitness center here.

Mr. Bicoy was preparing to serve the ball to Staff Sgt. Darren Foster when his heart stopped beating.

"I was just about to serve the ball when I passed out," Mr. Bicoy said.

Sergeant Foster and Staff Sgt. Randy Best, who was working out at the gym, immediately started administering CPR while the fitness center staff began to go into action.

Sergeant Foster was here on a temporary-duty assignment and is a certified first responder.

"After I was notified of what was happening, I got the (automated external defibrillator)," said Senior Airman Michael Dawson of the fitness center staff.

While Airman Dawson began to use the defibrillator, another fitness center staff member called 911.

"When I first got there, he didn't have a pulse at all," Airman Dawson said. "After the initial shock from the (defibrillator), his heart started beating again, but it was still really faint and weak."

The fitness center staff was able to keep Mr. Bicoy's heart beating until the ambulance arrived about 10 minutes later.

Once he got to the hospital, his heartbeat began to level out and doctors gave him potassium and continued to monitor his heart.

After the doctors used a heart catheter on Mr. Bicoy, they found three blocked arteries, two of which had 100-percent blockage. The doctors implanted a permanent defibrillator, and Mr. Bicoy is scheduled for bypass surgery.

He said he cannot recall any of the events that happened between the time he passed out and when he awoke at the hospital except for a brief moment when he was able to tell a person his wife's phone number.

Although he nearly died, being at the fitness center when it happened was better than being at a local gym where he normally plays, because they do not have a defibrillator at the other facility.

Despite what happened, doctors said they expect Mr. Bicoy to make a full recovery.

"The quick thinking and fast action by all the people who helped definitely saved my life," he said. "The doctor told me that I came back from the dead, and I greatly appreciate all they have done for me."

Mr. Bicoy’s doctors said he probably would not have made it if he were not in such good shape. (Courtesy of Air Education and Training Command News Service)