nurses save ref

What began as a chance encounter at a Toronto hockey tournament has grown into an unexpected friendship, with two Nova Scotia nurses reuniting with the Ontario man whose life they helped save.

After Kentville nurses Melissa Hines and Terri Arnold performed life-saving CPR on veteran hockey referee George Harrison earlier this year, the three stayed in touch.

Harrison says the day he went into cardiac arrest, he was already running late after dropping off his granddaughter at daycare and getting caught in heavy traffic on the way to the rink, and he never made it onto the ice.

“I went to the washroom adjacent to the referee’s room and when I came out, I felt a little queasy, and that’s the last thing I remember [before] I went down.”

Hines and Arnold were grabbing coffee at the rink’s concession stand when they heard shouts for help.

Hines, clinical nurse lead at Valley Regional Hospital, says at first she thought, “maybe it was something a little bit simpler, but there was no hesitation.”

“Most of our work is on women and children, so we mostly deal with babies,” Arnold explains, sharing honestly that the experience was “a little bit frightening” before work mode took over and both nurses jumped into action.

‘It felt a little bit surreal’

Harrison was on the ground in cardiac arrest. Two younger referees had already started CPR and prepared the AED when the nurses arrived.

Arnold says they took turns doing compressions and working the defibrillator.

Harrison says he was down for twenty-two minutes.

“It felt like forever, but I think the ambulance did arrive within like 10 to 15 minutes,” Hines says. “Throughout that time, I think we had to shock him three times.”

After Harrison was taken to hospital, the women returned to the tournament and later received a text from his son saying he was alive and doing okay.

“That moment made it feel so much more real. Just knowing this man’s a father, he’s a grandfather, you know, he’s really important to somebody.”

‘I gave both of them a big hug‘

Months later in late July, the three met in person for the first time since the incident.

Harrison says they met for dinner at Gahan House in downtown Halifax and ended up talking for hours.

“I was kind of nervous at first because I didn’t know them, but once we started talking, five minutes in, you could tell they were just real, down to earth, kind, people. They’re some of the nicest people I’ve ever met, and I’ve met a lot of people in my travels,” says the 68-year-old.

He adds that he’s grateful he got the chance to visit Halifax for the first time, and thank the people who saved his life.

“They could have just stayed in line and had their coffee. I’m indebted to them for stepping forward and saving my life.”

Looking back, Harrison says he still thinks about how close he came to not surviving.

“If it had been five more minutes in that dressing room, the other two referees would never have seen me because they’d have gone out to the ice. So, I would have been laying there for about 45 minutes. That would have been the end.”

Hines hopes the story encourages more people to learn CPR and first aid because emergencies can happen anywhere, noting that “it really does save lives.”

Harrison says its a lesson he has taken to heart and has now signed up for CPR training. 

“If I was in their shoes, I don’t know what I would have done.”