An Ottawa runner posted online asking 'Did you save my life?' Then he got an answer
CBC
Tommy Chan knows he ran five kilometres on Tuesday, May 20. He just doesn't remember it.
In fact, he doesn't recall anything from that date — waking up days later in haze at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute after suffering what he says was a post-run heart attack.
"I don't even remember the massage therapy or going to class beforehand," Chan said.
"I just know nothing about what happened that day, or the next four."
Since his collapse, the 39-year-old says he's done some detective work in an attempt to recover the missing pieces and learn more about the people who saved his life.
The running app Strava tells him he finished his 5K run around Bronson and Carling at 7:50 p.m. His Garmin smartwatch, which is linked to Strava, shows his heart rate throughout that cool spring day.
A noticeable spike Chan assumes is his evening run is followed by a sudden lack of any readings at all: the chart goes blank.
But what his tech doesn't tell him is anything about those who lent a hand.
Chan says he was likely walking home when his heart gave out, with paramedics saying they responded to the area near the intersection of Carling and Champagne avenues around 8:50 p.m., finding an adult male in cardiac arrest.
Ottawa Fire Services also responded, using a defibrillator to administer a shock, with the emergency teams eventually able to get his heart back to a more normal rhythm.
But before any of that, bystanders initiated CPR under the direction of the paramedics services' communication officers.
"This teamwork between bystanders, firefighters and paramedics clearly shows the importance of the chain of survival," said Marc-Antoine Deschamps, superintendent for the Ottawa Paramedic Service in an emailed statement.
Chan still feels those good deeds: the broken ribs he was left with are a painful reminder of the kindness of others. Besides the soreness in his chest, he's also felt a desire to reach out and let others know he's still alive.
"If I were a Good Samaritan, that would be cool to know that this person is doing OK," he said.
The P.E.I. Humane Society says it is doing far more fundraising than it used to, and rising expenses — including the cost of animal medications — are a big reason why.
Ottawa is staring down a court-ordered deadline to submit a new plan to reform the on-reserve child welfare system, as a group of First Nations leaders and children’s advocates prepare a competing proposal.
An underpass revitalization project that was meant to pay tribute to the people of Parkdale has instead deteriorated into “a garbage dump,” according to nearby residents.
A young man has been charged with criminal negligence causing bodily harm after a fire at a frat party near Western University that injured five sorority sisters, including two seriously, late Tuesday night.
The massive deal to combine one of Hollywood's oldest studios with a streaming giant hasn't even been approved yet, but it's already riling multiple related industries and politicians concerned about monopolies and media concentration.
Mi'kmaq chiefs and a former Nova Scotia justice minister are criticizing the provincial government for directing police to crack down on illegal cannabis, saying the order undermines relations with Indigenous Peoples.
For years, there has been “glaring inequity” in the way the province has allocated the millions of dollars in its county roads budget, according to Department of Transportation Minister Chuck Chiasson.
Six months after passing a law aimed at making it easier for new grocery stores to open, Manitoba's premier says lower grocery bills could be on the horizon.
Timothy Smith was acting in self-defence when he punched Landon Waddell, and shouldn't be found guilty of manslaughter, his lawyer says.
Thoroughbred horse racing at Vancouver’s Hastings Racecourse is ending after more than a century, with the operator announcing Friday it will no longer run a racing season at the historic facility.
A memorial to remember lives lost to gender-based violence was held in Charlottetown Friday, ahead of the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women, which is marked annually on Dec. 6.
A Calgary dentist who defrauded five insurance companies over a decade should spend up to three years in prison, the prosecution argued Friday.
B.C. Conservation Officer Service says it has called off its search for a bear responsible for an attack on a group of school children in Bella Coola, B.C. on Nov. 20.