'I could never ever repay her': Man thanks woman who helped keep his heart beating

It was meant to be a normal day for Wilbur Birt, but it was almost his last.

It was July 11, and he was playinggolf at Fox Meadow Golf Course in Stratford, P.E.I., across the Hillsborough River from his home in Charlottetown.

"I remember very little," said Birt.

"I don't remember leaving home actually that morning.I don't remember the drive over the bridge, which scares me, you know, as what could have happened.I don't remember entering the golf course. I don't remember who I was playing with."

His wife didn't notice that he wasbehaving any differently, and said he was joking around with her before he left.

But while he was on the third fairway, one of his golfing partners noticed something was wrong and he didn't look well.

"I was shooting my second or third shot," Birtsaid, and the round ended there.

Pro shop employee steps in with first aid

He was taken to the clubhouse in a golf cart and an ambulance was called, but soon he was having trouble staying conscious. Cassandra Paynter, who works in the pro shop and is also a trained lifeguard, stepped in to help.

It was only her first week on the job.

She encouragedBirtto keep breathingand treated him for shock. Once the first ambulance arrived Birt lost consciousness and Paynter worked alongside paramedics helping to keep his heart pumping by doing chest compressions, and instructed other staff on how to help.

It was surreal to see him walk through the doors and we gave each other a big hug.- Cassandra Paynter

"I was trying to teach the others how to properly give compressions," said Paynter.

"I was just very focused on keeping the proper rhythm down to keep the heart pumping and I was talking with paramedics making sure everything was done right, I wasn't thinking much other than that. I was just focused on getting through it."

Paynter creditsthe people who trained her in first aid as the reason she was able to act so confidently.

"They gave me the confidence to act immediately and properly with Wilbur and luckily he is here today still because of that training," she said.

Further treatment

Birt was taken to hospital and put in an induced coma. He was on a respirator for five days.

Eventually he was sent to Saint John where a defibrillator was put in his chest. It was determined that he had suffered a full cardiac arrest.

This was not Birt's first bout with heart troubles. In 2004, he had a quadruple bypass.

While he was recovering, he was thinking about meeting the woman who helped save his life.

"I didn't know how I would react for a week or so before I met her," he said.

"To put your arms around someone who kept you here on this Earth to enjoy my family and grandkids and the whole thing. I'm indebtedto her and I could never ever repay her."

Paynterwas happy she was given the opportunity to help.

"It was surreal to see him walk through the doors and we gave each other a big hug," she said.

Birt has to travel back to Saint John for another checkup on Sept.11, but he is expected to fully recover. He said the whole ordeal has given him a new outlook on life.

"Every morning now I get up, put my feet on the floor look out that window and I say, thank you for giving me another day," he said.

And he hopes to be back on the course soon.

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