MESA, Ariz. — An East Valley man and his family personally thanked a group of lifeguards whose quick thinking helped save his life.
Chris Sutton suffered from cardiac arrest the day before Thanksgiving at the Kino Aquatic Center in Mesa. On Monday, he was back at the pool for the first time since the incident that nearly killed him.
“I'm doing better than the last time you talked to me," Sutton told them.
Sutton at 62 years young, is a triathlete and has participated in dozens of triathlons for 30 years. He was swim training at the aquatic center like usual but said he started to feel light-headed and got out of the pool. Sutton said he had this same experience last year but it passed. This time, it was different.
“I thought this was similar to that, but kept getting worse,” he said.
Lifeguards Heidi White, Ally Carr and two others rushed to help. White said they immediately called 911 as they checked on Sutton.
“He was upright, talking to us at first, and it kind of just went downhill from there,” White said.
Sutton then went unconscious. Carr said she checked his pulse and it was weak. While both lifeguards had never experienced a swimmer going through cardiac arrest, they knew exactly what to do.
“It was just like, muscle memory of all the times that we had trained,” White said.
They had an automated external defibrillator that they used on Sutton. White said they shocked his heart twice. Giving paramedics enough time to arrive and take Sutton to the hospital where he stayed for four days. Sutton said doctors couldn't figure out what caused the cardiac arrest. However, he said they did implant an internal defibrillator in his chest in case it were to happen again.
Despite the terrifying situation he went through, Sutton was in great spirits Monday as he thanked White, Carr and the two other lifeguards as they were honored by the City of Mesa for their actions.
Sutton even cracked jokes about the experience.
“I don’t ever want to do that [swim] workout again," Sutton said leading to laughs from the crowd.
Sutton and his wife went up to each lifeguard to personally thank them for giving him a second chance at life.
"I'm glad I had the opportunity to thank them for their skills saved my life," Sutton said.
While he may not remember the events that happened that night, it's something Carr and White said they will never forget. Seeing Sutton back on his own two feet brings them a strong sense of relief.
“It's really amazing to see how he went from what we saw that night to now," White said.
“It was really great to seeable to come back to the pool," Carr said. "Very, very brave."
Sutton said he is continuing lighter workouts until he is fully cleared by his doctors. He fully intends to get back into triathlons if given the okay.
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