Restaurant workers save man's life

A man who was rescued by two quick-thinking Quail Creek restaurant workers in October says he’s lucky to be alive.

Bob Meier at the Grill at Quail Creek attending a dinner party sponsored by the Military Order of the World Wars, Santa Cruz Chapter, when he went into cardiac arrest.

“Fortunately, I don’t remember much,” said Meier, 83, who is recovering at home in Marana. “I was at a dinner party with my wife, and the next thing I know I was in St. Mary’s Hospital.”

During part of that time, two people were working tirelessly to save his life.

When server Kendra Hicok saw Meier on the floor, she sprung into action, starting CPR. Assistant Manager Brett Flanagan raced to get the Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) mounted on a nearby wall, which administers an electric shock to revive victims of cardiac arrest.

“My wife told met that she watched me die,” Meier said. “She was trying to get me to look at her, and I died.”

This was Hicok’s ninth time performing CPR in an emergency situation, a skill she learned for a previous job at dialysis clinic. She and Flangan had limited experience using an AED, which is designed for use by the public.

“Everything happened so fast,” Hicok said. “I started CPR, we got the machine, and it just took over from there.”

Katie Sayre, administrative chief of the Green Valley Fire District, said GVFD offers CPR classes that also teach people how to use an AED, though it’s not really necessary.

“Anyone should be able to run an AED machine,” said Sayre, a former cardiac nurse. “It’s all meant for the public, for lay people to be able to use easily.”

The directions on the machine explain clearly where to put the chest pads and how to begin use. It won’t administer a shock if the victim is not experiencing a critical, life-threatening arrhythmia, Sayre said.

“We want to encourage people to not be afraid, to go help the person and to get the AED machine if they know the business has one.”

The Good Samaritan law, which protects people from liability if the person they are attempting to save dies, also covers the use of AED machines, she said.

Green Valley Recreation’s rec centers are equipped with the life-saving machine, as are several other businesses and churches in town.

“Businesses should really think about having them, especially health care facilities, or gyms, where people exert themselves,” Sayre said.

Meier says he’s feeling much better and “raring to go” after spending the weeks following the heart attack in a rehabilitation hospital. Meier is retired from a career in the military and moved to Marana from Colorado with his wife, Vera, five years ago.

He said he was “ incredibly lucky” to have been in a location with an AED machine when he had the heart attack.

He plans to meet soon with Hicok and Flanagan to thank them for their efforts.

jrichardson@gvnews.com