Eighty-nine-year-old Bill Drake passed away at Maine Medical Center in Portland one week after going into cardiac arrest at United Fitness in Winthrop. His wife, Florence, now says the gym’s owner, Ryan Chamberland, is the reason her husband survived that week. Drake was riding a stationary exercise bike before his senior fitness class on Thursday, Jan. 29, when his heart stopped. A young woman working out nearby ran to find Chamberland for help. Together, they called 911, and Chamberland started CPR. He said, “I was checking for airways, checking pulse, trying to get him to wake up. I did a couple sternum rubs on him.”Chamberland participates in regular CPR and first responder trainings with his leadership team. He said this experience reminded him how important those trainings are. Florence Drake is a former EMT. She hopes her husband’s story will inspire people to go through the training. She said the doctors applaud Chamberland for his efforts, and scans revealed the cardiac arrest caused no additional heart damage to an otherwise healthy man. She said, “He was described as an 89-year-old male who presents as a 70-year-old.” Florence and Bill loved to travel and spend time with Bill’s sons at their lake house. One of those sons, a specialized charge nurse in California, has offered to donate an AED to the gym as a way to say thank you. Chamberland was glad he could help and hopes others will feel inspired to act when people are in need.He said, “Be kind. Help someone. If there’s an opportunity to help someone, help them.”
WINTHROP, Maine —
Eighty-nine-year-old Bill Drake passed away at Maine Medical Center in Portland one week after going into cardiac arrest at United Fitness in Winthrop. His wife, Florence, now says the gym’s owner, Ryan Chamberland, is the reason her husband survived that week.
Drake was riding a stationary exercise bike before his senior fitness class on Thursday, Jan. 29, when his heart stopped. A young woman working out nearby ran to find Chamberland for help.
Together, they called 911, and Chamberland started CPR. He said, “I was checking for airways, checking pulse, trying to get him to wake up. I did a couple sternum rubs on him.”
Chamberland participates in regular CPR and first responder trainings with his leadership team. He said this experience reminded him how important those trainings are.
Florence Drake is a former EMT. She hopes her husband’s story will inspire people to go through the training. She said the doctors applaud Chamberland for his efforts, and scans revealed the cardiac arrest caused no additional heart damage to an otherwise healthy man.
She said, “He was described as an 89-year-old male who presents as a 70-year-old.” Florence and Bill loved to travel and spend time with Bill’s sons at their lake house.
One of those sons, a specialized charge nurse in California, has offered to donate an AED to the gym as a way to say thank you. Chamberland was glad he could help and hopes others will feel inspired to act when people are in need.
He said, “Be kind. Help someone. If there’s an opportunity to help someone, help them.”
