Flatline in Paradise^^^^-----------------------------------------

Tonight was sad~a couple of Condos down from us, on the 4th floor ~had an emergency. I was sitting with Marlee in our condo~it was Thursday night and we were going to have a BBQ down by the pool with all of the wedding party/family and friends. Kris ran in and said, "Charm-someones down". I wasn't cluing into what she was meaning by that. I was like "what?" She said it again, "some guy is down and they need someone who can do CPR." So I ran over to the condo to find this sweet 74 year old man who's name was Mario on the ground face down in his bedroom. John the security guard for the Papakea condos was there and so we pulled him over in front of the bed and rolled him over. He was already blue on his face and fingers. Although he was still very warm but, that doesn't mean he was alive. His wife had been into his room two hours prior and he had just come up from swimming down at the pool. Mario's wife went out to their Lanai to talk to their realtor as they were putting their condo up on the market since they had just bought a place in California that they would be moving back to. So they were out on the lanai the whole time-after an hour she checked on Mario and he wasn't feeling good-she tried to get him to take some aspirin but he wouldn't do it. So she went back to the lanai to continue talking. After another hour passed she went back a second time and found him face down on the ground. She felt he was warm and started shouting for help. Helga and Kris heard them and ran in to see what was happening. That's when Kris came and got me. After John and I rolled him over there was a lot of blood coming out of his nose and mouth. Of course one of the first rules of CPR & First Aid is to protect yourself first. I used to carry a protective mask for CPR on my key ring but it had broken and I haven't replaced it. John didn't have one with him either, so he ran to the office. It seemed like forever before he returned. While he was gone though I tried to find a pulse and started doing chest compressions. What's really ironic about this whole thing is that Doug and I along with George, Helga and Kristina had all just gotten recertified about a week before we left for Hawaii. So it was good that it was all fresh and I knew the new techniques. I remember from performing CPR in the hospital when I was a Physical Therapy Aide that the cartilage and ribs crack. Mario's certainly did and I felt so bad. I really felt like he was already gone before I even started but we tried for his wife's sake. John came back with a mask and I continued compressions for about 7 minutes which seemed like 7 hours and John did the breathing. My adrenalin was pumping so hard. When the paramedics finally arrived they continued to have us do it for another couple of minutes. Finally they bagged him and took over. I was shaking as I stood up. It was all so surreal. When John the Security guard had run to get the mouth piece I was all alone with Mario. I can definitely say that the veil felt very thin. I felt so bad that I couldn't have done more. As the paramedics got ready to shock him it advised that they not do it. Then it did it a couple of times, but still~ nothing. Because he had probably died shortly after the second time his wife had checked on him we weren't able to bring him back. Helga and George were there with me consoling Mario's wife. They were in their swimsuits, I had changed back already~it was just such a crazy experience. Here we are in paradise the night before James and Kyla's wedding-enjoying the beauty of Maui and enjoying good company~enjoying life. Then this happened and it made us all remember how quickly life can come to an end. The next day when I saw John I asked him what he had died of-he said it was a Pulmonary Embolism. He said that Mario's wife was still in shock but doing ok. He thanked me over and over again for helping him try to revive Mario. Everyday that we saw him for the next 8 days he kept calling me his Angel and would give me a hug and a kiss on the cheek ( he was Hawaiian ). It really made me reflect on life. How grateful I am for the plan of salvation and to know for a surety that there is life after death. I am so very grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ and for the knowledge it gives me.