It was before lunch on Jan. 6, when a Coweta County Deputy jumped in to save a life.
Deputy Christian Spinkx responded to a 911 call at the YMCA off of East Highway 34.
“They advised that there was a male that had passed out somewhere on the upstairs gym of the YMCA,” said Spinkx.
Bodycam video shows him jogging up the stairs where he finds a man on the ground surrounded by others.
“There were a lot of citizens already there working on him; one female in particular doing CPR already. The male was also hooked up to an AED. The one big thing to me is I know CPR is very exhausting when you’re actually doing it, so, immediately I offer my help and tell the citizens I’ll take over,” said Spinkx.
Bodycam video shows the moments Deputy Spinkx is doing compressions. Calmly he tries to get a response from the patient and after several minutes he got a response.
“We were able to get a pulse. They came back and the individual eventually opened his eyes in a state of panic, rightfully so. We were able to communicate with him,” said Spinkx.
Deputy Spinkx said it was several minutes before he got to the man on the ground. And that time matters.
“For every minute that CPR is delayed, that person’s chance of a full recovery decreased by almost by ten percent,” said Cardiologist, Dr. Jane Morgan.
There’s hope that more and more people are learning CPR. After Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest during Monday Night Football, the red cross reports an increase in interest from companies and individual requesting CPR training.
The patient in Deputy Spinkx case, is alive and recovering at the hospital.
“There were other people who played a role in this, so it wasn’t just me...it was a combined effort. I can’t do anything but applaud the people who were there in that gym at that time,” said Spinkx.
If you are interested in learning CPR, the Red Cross offers teaching, here.