METROPOLIS, IL — Metropolis police chief Harry Masse was playing pool at Sully’s Billiards Bar & Grill Tuesday night when a man collapsed. He performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
Masse is in a pool league at Sully’s, and he said a player on the opposing team who had recently undergone heart surgery came to watch the game.
As they were playing, the man collapsed and turned purple almost immediately, Masse said.
He said he jumped into action and started performing CPR right away from the annual training he receives with the police department.
“Unless somebody was trained with CPR, his chances of survival were ill,” Masse said. “That’s why I’m such a huge proponent of CPR.”
Masse said the man was first taken to the nearest hospital, Massac Memorial Hospital, and then transferred to Baptist Health in Paducah.
Masse said he thinks everybody should be trained in CPR.
“It’s an important tool to have in your toolbox,” he said. “It just takes some practice. But once you get the basics down, it’s something that is very easy to learn and easy to maintain.
Mason Stewart, Metropolis firefighter engineer, said CPR is the act of trying to restart the heart after cardiac arrest. He said when somebody goes unconscious, check for pulses in the wrist or neck. If the person does not have a pulse, start CPR.
Stewart said CPR should not be used for choking because the airways are blocked. Instead, use the Heimlich maneuver by placing a fist above the navel and grasping it with the other hand.
Masse said now is a great time to take a CPR certification class because summertime opens the possibilities for water emergencies.
Drowning is the leading cause of death for children ages one to four, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. In 2022, the CDC released a report showing that drowning deaths increased by 28% among children in that age range since 2019.
Stewart said drowning happens almost immediately with kids who are not able to swim.
“It takes seconds for brain cells to start dying. And same with the heart and tissue.”
He said water entering the airway causes many problems, so getting the individual breathing on their own with CPR or the Heimlich is very important.
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