DANVILLE — It wasn’t a big jackpot, but one man got very lucky recently at the Golden Nugget Casino.
Lisa A. Jenkins, of Westville, a retired nurse with 38 years of experience in healthcare, went to the Golden Nugget Casino with her son, never expecting to use her CPR training, but did, and it saved a man’s life.
“I see a man running with a case in his hand, and it sparked my attention. I knew something was wrong, so I got up and ran over there, and the gentleman was lying on the floor with what we call agonal respirations,” Jenkins said. “Their mouth kind of opens, but they’re really not getting any air. And so I went over and checked for a pulse.”
And she went into action, making sure someone had called 911 and started CPR immediately.
“He was lying on his left side, and I said he didn’t have a pulse,” she said. “So I rolled him onto his back and started CPR immediately. And then I asked the gentleman, who I think worked for the casino, and I said, ‘Can you get the AED open?’ Because I knew if he didn’t have a pulse, early activation of defibrillation and getting an AED on and getting them shocked is the key to survival.”
During this time, she alerted everyone when the AED needed to deliver a shock with a, “I said, everybody, ‘Back off and don’t touch him.’ Why? It analyzes him. And it said, shocking advice. And it shocked him.”
“So then I started CPR again, and after a while I was getting tired.”
Someone came up to her and asked if she wanted them to take over and do compressions.
Meanwhile, others came by and said they also knew CPR.
“And then this other girl came over and said she knew CPR. So she said, ‘Can I help?’ I said, ‘Sure.’ So she came in and did chest compressions, and then another girl came up, and she and I both were feeling for a pulse, and as she was doing CPR, of course, we could feel a pulse, because she was giving him a pulse by pressing on his heart. And so I asked her to stop for just a second, and we failed. And he had a pulse.”
When Jenkins realized the man had a pulse, she told everyone to stop CPR and realized a physician she knew who worked at Carle was in the crowd.
“I recognized her from when I worked in the ICU, here at the Danville hospital, and that was a while back. She was a primary care doctor for Carle’s Clinic,” Jenkins said. “She happened to come up, so I explained to her what was going on. We got his pulse back. So she and I just stayed with the gentleman until the ambulance came.”
Jenkins said she wants people to know getting trained in CPR and how to use an AED is not difficult, and potentially can save someone you love.
“The key thing was, is that they brought the AED immediately, because had I not been able to shock his heart right away?” Jenkins said. “I mean, already somebody in cardiac arrest outside the hospital has a one, maybe one out of 10 people survive. So had he not got shocked right away, I don’t know that the gentleman would have survived.”
And she says, “Everyone should take advantage of learning CPR, because a life was saved, because we had several people that knew what to do, and that it was a positive outcome, and that was my, my main, my main concern.”
Jenkins referred to the American Heart Association for classes. She said to call them if you want to schedule one, and they are free. Because it may not always be a stranger who is suffering a cardiac arrest.
“That would be so helpful if something like that happened at their home before 911, got there,” Jenkins said others in the community have benefited from the lifesaving knowledge. “I knew of a son of a teacher in Catlin who had just learned CPR, and his dad collapsed in front of him. And he did CPR on him, and as far as I know, the guy’s still alive, and that was over 20 years ago. But I mean, just taking advantage of something that could be so helpful in the event of cardiac arrest.”
Ivana Ihm, Director of Marketing for the Golden Nugget Casino said the staff is truly thankful.
“This incident highlights how caring this community truly is,” Ihm wrote. “It is inspiring to our team to witness such a call to duty in order to save lives. Witnessing their quick-thinking and bravery has left a lasting and positive impact on our staff and guests.”
As of now, according to several sources, the gentleman has been released from the hospital and is doing okay. Truly, a Christmas Miracle, which Jenkins is quick to point out, would not have been possible without the help of others who also knew how to do CPR.
“There were other people who assisted with that. So it wasn’t all on me,” Jenkins said. “Everybody you know was in the right place at the right time.”
Jenkins added, “I’m not looking for any kind of recognition for this, because it’s just it just came natural, and I just did what I’m used to doing. And I thought it was many people being in the right place. It wasn’t just me; everybody was willing to help.”
Ihm said the casino is in the works of honoring those who were present to save a man’s life.
The name of the man that suffered the cardiac arrest was not released by the casino.