Ken Carrusca was given the gift of a second chance at life. He’s still searching for ways to return the favour.
On Jan. 14, 2018, Carrusca, then 51, went down during a weekend Adult Safe Hockey League game at Scotia Barn, the former Burnaby 8 Rinks.
This wasn’t necessarily alarming, at least initially, for his teammates as well as the referees who were calling the rec league match. Carrusca was a longtime hockey player after all, accustomed to all manner of injuries and scrapes when it came to being on the ice – maybe he just caught an edge?
But this time was clearly different.
“Basically, my heart just stopped. I don’t remember any of the actual events on the ice,” says Carrusca. “I remember being in the dressing room, getting dressed with the guys, going out doing our warm-up – but I don’t remember any of the first period.”
West Vancouver resident Jason Granholm remembers the day well. He was one of two officials on the ice who stepped in, along with several of Carrusca’s teammates, and likely saved Carrusca’s life.
“We just sort of thought he’d fell. It wasn’t until he started turning blue that we thought we better get this AED on him,” said Granholm.
Carrusca clutched his chest and gasped for breath. His pulse weakened and he slipped into unconsciousness. Granholm and other players on the ice sprung into action, removing Carrusca’s clothes and applying chest compressions, performing CPR and administering the AED before paramedics arrived.
Carrusca had suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. He was stabilized at Royal Columbian Hospital and eventually underwent quadruple bypass surgery. He’s now doing well and plays hockey when he can.
As the host of such a violent physical event, Carrusca was there but not present during that day. He got more details about what happened months later.
“I ended up chatting with a bunch of the guys from hockey and they told me as well that the referee was there and he did CPR and also used the defibrillator,” explains Carrusca.
Carrusca and Granholm met for lunch. A friendship of sorts was struck up.
“It was pretty emotional,” notes Carrusca.
Granholm concurs that it was definitely strange meeting the man whose life he’d had a major hand in saving just months earlier.
“When you’re playing you’re wearing a visor so you don’t really get to see guys’ faces, especially during the game. Even during those compressions, I never really looked at his face too much to be honest. When I went back to go meet him I couldn’t really remember what he looked like,” says Granholm.
The two are now well-acquainted. Last month – before an ongoing pandemic rendered such celebratory meetings null and void – the District of West Vancouver and St. John Ambulance presented a life-saving award to Granholm for his quick thinking under pressure.
In attendance were Mayor Mary-Ann Booth, a representative from St. John Ambulance, and Carrusca.
“The mayor said a few words, I got up there to say a few words, and so did Jason,” says Carrusca. “I wanted to make sure obviously that I thanked all those involved. … Just when I was about to thank Jason I got quite emotional.”
During that eventful day more than two years ago, Granholm, who has ambitions to become an emergency first responder, was fresh off having just taken first-aid courses and was ready to spring into action with newly acquired knowledge and skills as soon as Carrusca went down.
“It was so fresh it was just basically instinct based on what we had learned,” says Granholm, adding: “If somebody collapses and they’re not breathing, if there’s an AED around, get it on them.”
Now fully recovered, Carrusca quips that his rec hockey team was, and still is, called Can’t Skate Backwards. When he considers his own life, and everything he’s been through and the people who have helped him continue to be here, he’s still thinking forwards and onwards.
“I’m still deciding how do I properly thank Jason,” he says. “What do you get someone who’s saved your life?”
