20 Volunteers Save Life with 96 Minutes of CPR
When Howard Snitzer (54) collapsed from a massive heart attack outside Don’s Foods in Goodhue, Minnesota, it was more than just his health crisis that was working against him. Goodhue is a very remote small town of less than 1,000 residents. In fact, there isn’t even a stoplight in the entire village, and the nearest hospital is miles away.
Still, the only other customer at the store moved into action to begin CPR on Snitzer. Hearing the commotion from across the street, two more men came over from the local body shop to provide assistance. Soon, more than 20 volunteers had gathered who were taking turns providing CPR to keep Snitzer’s heart beating until EMS arrived more than one-and-a-half hours later. When the life flight helicopter arrived from the Mayo Clinic, one of the flight nurses said, “It was unbelievable. There were probably twenty people in line waiting their turn to do CPR. They just kept cycling through.” Even more remarkable, Snitzer made a miraculous recovery.
