New Richmond High School social studies teacher and boys basketball coach Brian McMonigle is grateful for Judy Middeler, who taught him CPR. He likes to encourage others to get trained, knowing one day someone's life could depend on it.
For McMonigle, that day was Sunday.
On May 2, McMonigle sprinted to the aid of a soccer coach who collapsed shortly before the beginning of a youth soccer game at Clear Creek Park in Anderson Township.
McMonigle and his wife, Tracy, were at the game to watch their oldest son, Blake, not long after watching a youth basketball tournament that morning. When the soccer game was without an official, McMonigle volunteered.
Just before he took the field to begin the match, McMonigle overheard a parent saying that a coach had almost fallen. At the time, McMonigle said, those who saw the incident believed the coach might have tripped.
Moments later, the same coach collapsed on the sidelines. McMonigle, suspecting a heart attack, sprinted over to the coach, knelt to his side, rolled him and over and checked for a pulse, finding none. Seeing the coach's body was laboring to breathe, he began CPR.
“There were all kinds of other people around, all suggesting things, which made it very frantic,” McMonigle said in a press release. “There was another parent right across from me, Kim Porter, whose son is on the team with Blake. She was the voice I focused on. She said ‘you’re doing great. You’re doing the right thing. Keep going.’”
At one point while administering CPR, McMonigle feared the coach wasn't going to make it.
“I kept going and kept going and he jerked back. I thought, 'he’s still alive, he’s still alive. I have to keep focused on what I need to do until the paramedics arrive,'" McMonigle said. “People were talking all around me; a woman was on the phone with his wife. You know, I’m kind of hearing this in the background going on.”
McMonigle said his wife was one of several people to call 9-1-1. He said emergency responders made it to the soccer fields quickly but had trouble getting back to the field.
"It seemed like I heard their siren for two minutes after they arrived in the park," McMonigle said. "They had difficulty getting through the maze of cars and people."
Tracy and others worked to direct traffic in an effort to clear a path for the emergency vehicle. When the emergency crew arrived, they asked McMonigle to continue doing CPR while they worked to set up their equipment.
"They cut off his shirt and hooked him up and continued life-saving techniques before bringing him back," McMonigle said. "They said, 'You saved him.'"
It's been an emotional few days for McMonigle since the incident.
“It’s weird to have someone say you saved his life," McMonigle said. "It’s a great feeling, but at the same time, it's a bit overwhelming."
As a coach, McMonigle has been trained for decades on CPR. There’s been a couple of incidents over the years where people collapsed and he responded, but those individuals still had a pulse and no CPR was required. These situations, however, likely prepared McMonigle for his response on Sunday.
This week, the collapsed coach and his family members have reached out to McMonigle to express their appreciation. The coach is in good condition and plans to go to his team’s practice on Friday.
Throughout the experience, McMonigle said he appreciates his wife and others who placed the 9-1-1 call and who helped get emergency responders back to the field. Mrs. Porter and her voice of calm and support were a tremendous help.
“There was a lot of help," McMonigle said. "It truly was amazing to see so many people caring for one person. The paramedics were amazing when they got there. It was the right recipe to save someone’s life."
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