Greene Man Saves Life and Receives Heartsaver Hero Plaque
Gerry D’Amour acted quickly to save his friend Mike Shaw’s life, earning recognition for his heroic efforts at a recent town meeting
Greene, Maine, CPR, Heartsaver Hero, Emergency Response
Greene: In August, Mike Shaw suddenly collapsed while hanging out at his friend Gerry D’Amour’s place. Luckily, Gerry was right there and jumped into action to save him.
Shaw was just standing in the driveway when he went down. Gerry’s wife, Barbara, saw it all happen. She rushed over and started doing chest compressions. Gerry quickly took over CPR while Barbara called for help.
On Monday, Gerry was honored with the American Heart Association’s Heartsaver Hero plaque during a Board of Selectmen meeting. It was a proud moment for him.
When the deputies from the Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Office arrived, they took over the life-saving efforts from Gerry. They were on the scene pretty fast, which was crucial.
Then, the Greene Fire Department’s EMT, Ben Westman, showed up. By that time, Shaw was still unresponsive, so they rushed him to Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston with the help of United Ambulance Service.
Thankfully, Shaw made a full recovery and was there at the meeting to see Gerry get his plaque. Gerry made sure to share the credit with Barbara for her quick thinking.
Gerry, who works as a ski patroller, has had to perform CPR in some pretty wild situations on the slopes. It’s great to see that experience pay off.
Westman mentioned that Shaw was really lucky that day. If Gerry and Barbara hadn’t known CPR, things could have turned out very differently. He also encouraged everyone to learn CPR—it can really save lives.