Swimmer's heart stops in pool and entire school trains in CPR

By American Heart Association News

0816-SFTH-Dumais_WP

Anyone who’s been watching the Olympic swimming events and wondering why lifeguards surround a pool filled with so many expert swimmers should talk to Ashley Dumais.

The young swimmer was at a high school swim meet in January when her heart stopped in the middle of a race.

The then-18-year-old began the day just as she had so many days when she had a swim meet. Up early, off to a meet, into the pool. The state swim meet was at the University of New Hampshire in Durham, about an hour from her home in Hudson.

As Ashley finished her lap of the 50-meter freestyle, typically her strongest event, she began to drop to the bottom of the pool. But the focus wasn’t on Ashley; it was on the next swimmer coming off the block.

Unbeknownst to the timer, the coach or anyone in the crowd, Ashley had gone into cardiac arrest.

Within moments the crowd noticed and grew frantic, yelling and pointing. The timer, Rich Spear, dove in, but he couldn’t push her up to the surface. Alvirne High swim coach Sean McLaughlin rushed to the pool deck. As Spear pushed, McLaughlin pulled. They got her out. Ashley had no pulse and was turning blue.

An anesthesiologist, an intensive care nurse and an EMT — what Ashley’s mom, Bonnie, calls the “dream team” — happened to be among the parents at the meet. They began CPR. A UNH student retrieved the automated external defibrillator, which was not by the pool but in another hallway.

Ashley Dumais (front middle) with some of the “dream team” members who helped save her. Clockwise from top left: UNH graduate swim coach Dan Duvall, Jr., anesthesiologist Mike Lane, Ashley’s dad Randy, ICU nurse Laura Zercher, physician Patty Hodge, Ashley’s mom Bonnie, Ashley and EMT Sarah Carrico.
Ashley Dumais (front middle) with some of the “dream team” members who helped save her. Clockwise from top left: UNH graduate swim coach Dan Duvall, Jr., anesthesiologist Mike Lane, Ashley’s dad Randy, ICU nurse Laura Zercher, physician Patty Hodge, Ashley’s mom Bonnie, Ashley and EMT Sarah Carrico.

Someone called Bonnie.

“They told me Ashley collapsed,” she said. Then, the high school principal told her that Ashley had gone into cardiac arrest.

She and her husband, Randy, dashed to their car for the one-hour trip to Durham.

Meanwhile, Ashley was rushed to the hospital in Exeter and quickly transferred to Massachusetts General Hospital, where doctors used therapeutic hypothermia to protect her organs and limit the risk of brain damage.

“We would touch her hands and try to warm them up, and then we realized that was not going to happen,” said Bonnie, becoming tearful as she recalled the event. No one knew if the high school senior would come out of it OK or whether she might have brain damage.

When Ashley woke up, her eyes darted around the room as she tried to figure things out.

Ashley Dumais with coach Sean McLaughlin.
Ashley Dumais with coach Sean McLaughlin.

The nurses removed the breathing tube. The next day when Ashley’s parents asked if she knew why she was there, she jokingly responded, “Yeah, because I’m a really bad swimmer.”

Doctors suspect Ashley has a condition called long QT syndrome, an often inherited condition that affects the heart’s electrical activity. Doctors implanted a defibrillator to regulate her heart rhythm, and she has been fine since.

Throughout her school years Ashley had never missed a day of school, but she had to miss that week. But on her way back from the hospital, she told her mother that she could not stay away another moment from the swim team. They were having a meet. She wanted to go.

The swimmers, all of whom had printed Ashley’s name on their arms in her honor, rushed to her with hugs and tears.

“I had not expected that,” she said of the emotional outpouring.

The Alvirne High School swim team.
The Alvirne High School swim team at a meet after Ashley's cardiac arrest.

or did the family expect a large donation to be collected. Principal Steven Beals told Bonnie that the faculty and students had raised nearly $1,000. But the family didn’t need it, Bonnie said. Insurance had covered everything.

With the principal’s help, they came up with a plan: What if they used the money to buy AEDs for the school? New Hampshire is one of numerous states that does not mandate AEDs in all schools. Yet 100 percent of public schools have at least one, according to Bill Wood, head of procurement for New Hampshire schools.

Principal Beals was thrilled.

Then, the Dumais family paid it forward with one more gesture. On April 21, the school held a CPR training session, and every single student was trained in CPR.

Ashley Dumais at her high school's CPR training event in April.
Ashley Dumais at her high school's CPR training event in April.

Ashley graduated in June and will soon start college at Husson University. But in the meantime, what is Ashley doing for the summer?

Knowing something about what it means to have one’s life saved, she is serving as a lifeguard and swim instructor for the local YMCA.

Photos courtesy of the Dumais family


American Heart Association News Stories

American Heart Association News covers heart disease, stroke and related health issues. Not all views expressed in American Heart Association News stories reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Statements, conclusions, accuracy and reliability of studies published in American Heart Association scientific journals or presented at American Heart Association scientific meetings are solely those of the study authors and do not necessarily reflect the American Heart Association’s official guidance, policies or positions.

Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved. Permission is granted, at no cost and without need for further request, for individuals, media outlets, and non-commercial education and awareness efforts to link to, quote, excerpt from or reprint these stories in any medium as long as no text is altered and proper attribution is made to American Heart Association News.

Other uses, including educational products or services sold for profit, must comply with the American Heart Association’s Copyright Permission Guidelines. See full terms of use. These stories may not be used to promote or endorse a commercial product or service.

HEALTH CARE DISCLAIMER: This site and its services do not constitute the practice of medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always talk to your health care provider for diagnosis and treatment, including your specific medical needs. If you have or suspect that you have a medical problem or condition, please contact a qualified health care professional immediately. If you are in the United States and experiencing a medical emergency, call 911 or call for emergency medical help immediately.