 Debbie Ramlow from respiratory therapy and Karen Hobler from
obstetrics were merely spectators at the Lincoln High School
basketball holiday tournament. They had traveled to Collinsville to
show support for the Railers the weekend after Christmas.A
referee called timeout and immediately fell to the floor. Ramlow's
family urged her to help. She got to the floor, where she met up
with Ann Olson, a nurse from Memorial Medical Center, who started
compressions since the patient didn't have a pulse. Scott Ritchhart
from Lincoln applied pressure to a bleeding wound on the referee's
head, and Ramlow began managing his airway.
"There was a lot of yelling going on to get the AED," she
recalls. "After the AED arrived, there was a lot of chaos about how
to put on the patches. I admit I had to use my 'timeout' skills and
tell everyone to get to the basics and let the fireman put them on.
Karen Hobler was behind me the entire time with a lot of
support. "
The AED worked; the referee soon had a pulse and regained
consciousness.
"Everyone just jumped in. It's what we do," Hobler says.
"The whole story is strong support of having AEDs in public
places and letting the public know they are easy to use and do save
lives.
"I'm glad that the ref ended up surviving. The whole crowd was
extremely elated when he left the court, via stretcher, and held a
hand up to the crowd," she added. "In fact, he received a standing
ovation."
[Text from file received from Abraham Lincoln Memorial Hospital]
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