Unconscious, not breathing and moments away from death, a man is lucky it was South Surrey’s Patrick Storoshenko who within earshot in White Rock last Friday (May 18).
Storoshenko was walking through the White Rock Elks (1469 George St.) parking lot shortly after noon to get his haircut, when a distressed woman ran to him with arms in the air.
“She was screaming about her friend overdosing, he was going to die,” Storoshenko told Peace Arch News Thursday.
The woman was on the phone with 911 dispatch, she handed Storoshenko her phone and left, he said.
He found the man, who appeared to be in his 30s, on a nearby deck.
“Totally unconscious, eyes rolled in the back of his head, completely limp, not responding whatsoever,” Storoshenko said.
Dispatch told Storoshenko to lay the struggling man flat, raise his head and listen for breathing.
“After I couldn’t hear the breathing, they asked me to start giving him CPR,” Storoshenko said, adding that he’s never administered CPR before.
“They explained to me how to do it, I was trying to, I still couldn’t get him to wake up.”
While the chaotic scene unfolded, Storoshenko screamed for help, but received none from passerbys and “looky-loos.”
“That was the most disturbing part of it. Something bad is going on, and you’re sitting there watching what’s going on but you’re not helping? I was struggling completely with what was happening.”
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“This is still a person, this is still a life. Come on, help.”
Storoshenko estimated that the ambulance arrived within four minutes, and paramedics immediately administered naloxone, an injected medication used to block the effects of opioids.
“I think they shot him three times, it was a few times with the needle,” he added.
The struggling man regained his breath, but sat still for about 15 minutes before he got up.
Storoshenko described it as the most traumatizing event of his life, and called his mother immediately after the incident.
“I explained everything, she tried to calm me down. I was completely in shock. I had to go home and I didn’t leave the house for about a day, I just sat at home,” he said.
Storoshenko said it took three days before his nerves calmed down.
Following an interview with Storoshenko Thursday, he said it was the first time he’s talked about the incident in such great detail, and that discussing it brought some relief.
As for the man, Storoshenko said he’s seen him around White Rock for the past 15 years.
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