Dick Bylund – St. Louis, MO – 50 at the time of the event (1993)

Sometimes it’s better to break the rules. If a young paramedic in Freemont, CA, had followed procedures to the letter, Dick Bylund wouldn’t be alive today.

Dick was attending his son’s football game at Mission High School in Freemont when he collapsed, a victim of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). Two nurses on the scene administered CPR, while a third fan ran to a nearby house to call 911, this being a time before everyone had a cell phone. Fire department personnel arrived within minutes, carrying a manual defibrillator.