On April 19, 52-year-old Chris Augustine - healthy and athletic with no prior heart problems - was running on the treadmill at the Conestoga Recreation & Aquatic Center in Beaverton.

"I don't remember any symptoms at all prior to going down," said Augustine. "I was just running."

Augustine went into sudden cardiac arrest and was thrown off the treadmill. Edita Boguslawski ran to the front desk of the recreation center for help and Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District (THPRD) staff sprang into action. Within minutes Samvel Grigorian began providing life-saving CPR, John Canova performed rescue breathing, and Karin Madsen delivered a shock from an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) that THPRD keeps at the center for emergencies like this.

Minutes later, Captain Andrew Klein and his crew from TVF&R's South Beaverton Station 66 and Metro West Ambulance paramedics arrived and began advanced medical treatment. According to Augustine's surgical team at Providence St. Vincent Medical Center, the life-saving intervention he received in the initial minutes of his cardiac arrest bought precious time needed to get him to the hospital where he underwent five hours of quadruple bypass surgery.

That day, the chain of survival worked seamlessly and as a result, Augustine has made a full recovery and is back to work. On July 9 he will return to Conestoga to reunite with the people who helped saved his life.

In total, one bystander and eight THPRD staff worked in tandem to help Augustine survive the odds. Although only 8 percent of those who suffer a cardiac arrest outside the hospital survive, when a bystander administers CPR following a cardiac arrest, those odds of survival can double or even triple.

The following people will be formally recognized for their lifesaving efforts:

Bystander: Edita Boguslawski

THPRD staff: Karin Madsen, Samvel Grigorian, John Canova, Jon Wangen, Brenda Peterson, Madeline Huffman, Maris Thompson, and Erica Pahua

Also available for interview:
Cardiac arrest survivor: Chris Augustine
TVF&R firefighters and Metro West Ambulance paramedics