Fast action saves woman after cardiac arrest at Toboggan Championships
By Connor Clement
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CAMDEN, Maine (WMTW) — February is American Heart Month, a time focused on raising awareness about heart disease and cardiac emergencies. That message hit close to home this weekend at the U.S. National Toboggan Championships in Camden, when a competitor suffered cardiac arrest just before her team’s run.
The incident occurred Sunday during the 35th annual championships, as the Camden Comets were preparing for another run down the chute. Lillian Rinaldi, known to her 13 teammates as “Lil,” collapsed moments before her turn.
“We’ve had lots of, you know, bumps, bruises, a broken bone here and there, but never a cardiac event like that,” said Holly Anderson, co-chair of the championships committee.
Comets owner Tammie Ahmadieh, who was with Rinaldi moments before she collapsed, said, “Lil was dead several times, she was dead, and they kept bringing her back.”
Her team and nearby first responders rushed to help immediately, beginning CPR and chest compressions within seconds. According to the National Institutes of Health, the chance of surviving a cardiac arrest outside a hospital is about 10%.
Two of the first responders had just been newly licensed last week. Bennett Cohen and Connor Howland, firefighter-EMTs with the Camden Fire Department, were standing just 40 feet away when the emergency unfolded.
“I don’t think either of us could have ever imagined that the first call would respond to is an active working CPR call 40 feet away from where we were standing,” Cohen said.
“In this situation, you only had a couple seconds to get yourself ready. And, but being so new, I think I sort of just thought back to what I learned. And I was fresh and ready to go, and I think that helped me stay calm in the situation,” Howland said.
Cohen added, “The stars, again, truly aligned for this patient that, you know, the preparation had been done. And that’s truly what saved her life.”
For championship organizers, it was a moment they say they will never forget.
“I appreciate it 100 times more knowing what I know now about what went down, and I will always have that group of people out here every single year going forward,” Anderson said.
The Comets came to compete for a title. Instead, they walked away with something far greater. Rinaldi remains hospitalized but is expected to make a full recovery. Ahmadieh spoke with her earlier this week.
“To hear her say, ‘Hi Tam, am I still on the team?’ I can’t get over this. It is shocking how fragile life is,” Ahmadieh said.
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