On a gray winter day at Lake Whatcom, Charles Hamlin came to say thank you.
Hamlin, a former Olympic rower, was out on the lake in June, training and taking the maiden voyage on a boat named “Susan Hirst.”
“It really was a miracle what happened,” he said. “Incredible doesn’t do it, and unbelievable doesn’t really capture what happened.”
Hamlin slumped over in the boat – he was having a heart attack many refer to as a "widowmaker.”
Luckily, Antonio Robinson was there for the dedication – the boat is named for his late mother-in-law. Robinson is a firefighter and EMT with South Snohomish Fire. He was off duty, but jumped into action.
“Tony immediately understood what the problem was,” Hamlin said.
Robinson swam to Hamlin’s boat and pulled him into a slightly larger chase craft. There, he performed a marathon of chest compressions – more than 17 minutes before they reached first responders on shore.
“The boat was so heavy the bow was literally underwater, so I was kneeling in water and your body was floating around,” he said. “….It was quite the workout.”
“Sorry for breaking your ribs,” he chuckled to Hamlin.
Hamlin was rushed to the hospital and walked out days later, with no permanent heart damage. He thanked Robinson and other first responders for their quick work. He went on to medal at the World Rowing Masters Regatta in Florida – and presented that medal to Robinson.
Robinson said for it to happen in the boat bearing his mother-in-law’s name – he was glad to make the save.
“For us to step up and serve others – do everything possible to help – it’s definitely what Susan would have wanted,” said. “She’d be very proud of all of us.”
Both hope this incident will lead more people to learn CPR, in case of such an emergency,