Richard Schmidt, 76, was just about to board his flight home to Sacramento after a two-week vacation here last month when his heart suddenly stopped and he collapsed at the jetway at the Daniel K. Inouye International Airport.
That’s when several passengers behind him, including a nurse and off-duty Honolulu firefighter, went into action. Feeling no pulse, they started CPR and used an airport automated external defibrillator, or AED, to shock his heart. After a single shock, Schmidt regained consciousness and was rushed to Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center where he had triple bypass heart surgery on Jan. 24. Following his recovery, he met one of the good Samaritans face-to-face at a news conference today before boarding his flight back home.
“I am so grateful for … the strangers and the bystanders who stepped in at a moment’s notice and helped me.