Stricken marathon runner grateful for quick actions of his rescuers, medical team

A long-distance runner with more than 20 marathons under his belt, 61-year-old Charles Gold was at mile 22 of the Los Angeles Marathon in March and thinking about the finish line when it happened — he sank down on one knee, vaguely aware of the faces around him, before collapsing in cardiac arrest. Within minutes, Los Angeles Fire Department emergency medical technicians and firefighter/paramedics stationed along the race course arrived at his side to give him CPR, defibrillate his heart and provide other advanced life support measures. Shortly afterward, Gold arrived with the team at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center where the hospital’s emergency team further assessed, stabilized and expedited his care. Although he didn’t remember much, he was alive and alert. “He even joked with us about now having ‘a new birthday,’” recalled Dr. Mark Morocco, a UCLA emergency physician who was the attending doctor that day.  Reed Hutchinson/UCLA Charles Gold thanks Los Angeles Fire Department staff who came to his rescue as a TV news crew films them. Today, almost three months after his heart attack, Gold, a certified public accountant, was at a press conference at a downtown fire station to thank Los Angeles Fire Department personnel and members of the UCLA medical team who all played a part in saving his life.  “LAFD saved Mr. Gold on the street by using an automated external defibrillator and other support measures to shock his heart back into a normal rhythm,” sa...
Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news