A Hayward man says Wisconsin Rapids Fire Chief Scott Young is a hero after the chief saved his life July 18.
Bruce Claflin said the incident happened just before a weekend golfing event he had been planning with family and friends. He had been doing yard work to prepare for visitors to his Hayward home and putting in time in the golfing magazine he owns. Claflin now believes he overworked in the beginning of the week, setting the stage for problems later.
On the eve of the annual event, a Thursday, the 63-year-old Claflin and about eight family members and friends took a boat from his home to a resort in Cable to have dinner.
Claflin has chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or COPD, which is a progressive lung disease, and, he didn't know it, but he was severely dehydrated. He and his group were walking up a hill at the resort and were pretty close to the top when Claflin found he couldn't breathe. He used his rescue inhaler, but it wasn't working. He passed out.