"For all those who don't think they need a CPR course, you just never know if tomorrow could be the day you will. I hope my colleagues hear this story and sign up." Renata (Purchasing)

While playing with his daughter in the pool at a Blue Mountain hotel this past summer, Neil Turchyn (Legal Services) saw a boy face down at the bottom of the deep end. After swimming down to check on him, Neil tapped his foot and felt that he was limp. He pulled him to the surface and lay him on the pool deck, seeing that he was blue and non-responsive. A bystander called 911 and Neil started chest compressions. After 10 to 15 compressions, the boy started to expel water and Neil could feel the boy coming back. As he heard the sirens of approaching emergency workers, Neil could feel the boy’s heart beating. The boy was rushed to the hospital and Neil later learned that he boy had survived. Just two months earlier, Neil had completed his CPR recertification at ArcelorMittal Dofasco. In fact, he goes every three years for the refresher course. “In that moment, you panic. You can’t think. So training gives you confidence and makes it second nature,” said Neil. “Our instructor, Gary Macdonald from the Red Cross, told me that you might not get it perfect but doing something is better than doing nothing. He is a great instructor. He gave me the confidence to do it. “It is important to get CPR training. It is even more important to get recertified every three years.” Neil was the third Dofasco employee in less than two years to save a life thanks to CPR training received through our half-day course offered to all employees.

In 2016, Chantal Floren (Metallurgy) helped save Bill McKay, a waste collector. Bill was working near Chantal’s home when a bee entered his throat. He became unconscious and Chantal and a neighbour called 911 and performed CPR until help arrived. Chantal knew exactly what to do as she had recently completed the CPR course offered by Dofasco, facilitated by the Red Cross of Canada at the F.H. Sherman Recreation Centre.

Just one day after taking the Dofasco CPR Certification Training in 2016, Renata Vucicevic (Purchasing) help to save a life. Renata was at the beach when a young woman collapsed. She and three other people performed compressions until first responders arrived. By the time Renata was back to her family, just metres away where they had been packing up their car to leave, the young woman was conscious, responsive and on her way to the hospital. “My whole life I never attended CPR training, nor was I ever in a situation where CPR needed to be administered,” Renata said in 2016. “I am still amazed at the timing. The adrenaline just kicked in and I knew exactly what I was supposed to do.