HOLLAND, Mich. — A routine hockey game at Griffs IceHouse West in Holland turned into a life-saving rescue two weeks ago when a 74-year-old player suffered a heart attack in the locker room.
Jerry Jaiven, a Holland resident of 28 years and longtime hockey player, collapsed during a post-game chat with teammates on a Wednesday evening. Thanks to the quick actions of fellow players and two anesthesiologists who happened to be at the rink, Jaiven survived what could have been a fatal cardiac event.
"Just turned 74 in December," Jaiven said. "I try to keep active, and possibly, that was part of my good fortune."
Jaiven, a father of three, has been skating with the MOTHERRS League, an acronym for "Men Over The Hill and Elderly Rink Rats," at Griffs IceHouse West for over a decade. His children followed his passion for the sport.
"I have three kids, two daughters and a son in the middle, and they all kind of followed in my footsteps, or skate steps, but they were much better hockey players than me," Jaiven said. "The girls played Division III college, and my son played ACHA for four years."
He's had to adapt his playing style over the years.
"I've been a defenseman for most of my life, but I become too darn slow, so they make me play forward, so I don't do as much damage," Jaiven joked.
It was in 2010 when The MOTHERRS League actually partnered with the rink to purchase its first automated external defibrillator (AED).
"We recognized we had players from their early 40s to their late 70s," Jaiven said. "There was some exposure there because of exercise and age, that things could happen. So, that's when we added the first AED to this arena."
Little did he know he would one day need that very device.
"I guess I rather thought I was indestructible. So, this was a bit of an eye opening," Jaiven said.
During the post-game conversation in the locker room, he began feeling unwell.
"I felt a little lightheaded. And then suddenly, effectively, the lights went out, and that's the last thing I remember," Jaiven said.
Teammates Rob Otis and Chris Wysong immediately recognized something was wrong when Jaiven began to lose consciousness.
"He had begun to slump over at that point, so I jumped up, yelled his name, shook him a little bit. No response. Screamed his name, shook him really hard, no response," Wysong said.
The two men sprang into action, calling 911 and alerting two Holland Hospital anesthesiologists who were also part of the league. Kevin Matrosic and Tony Yasick happened to be outside the locker room at the time.
"Rob said, what do we do? I said, Go find the docs, and I helped Jerry get level on the bench at that point," Wysong said. "The docs came in, and they took one look and said, Get him on the ground. So we got him on the ground."
The medical professionals immediately assessed the situation and began life-saving measures.
"Both Kevin and I have a lot of experience managing seriously concerning situations in hospitals, both unexpected and emergency, on the floor and stuff. So, it was pretty clear that Jerry was not doing well. Detected pulse, no pulse, started CPR," Yasick said.
While the doctors performed CPR, Wysong ran across the lobby to retrieve the AED.
"We think that from the time the event started till the time he had compressions, was probably no more than 30 seconds," Wysong said.
"My heart stopped, and they performed CPR for 20 minutes and shocked me three times. I discovered an AED leaves an interesting burn pattern on your body," Jaiven said.
The quick response proved crucial to Jaiven's survival.
"What saved Jerry's life, in my opinion, is early resuscitation and AED. That both those really, I think, made a huge difference," Yasick said.
"Getting the AED as quickly as possible, and starting the process of CPR and all that," Matrosic added.
The incident has motivated the MOTHERRS League to fundraise for additional AEDs throughout the facility.
"They're undergoing another fundraising to add two more, one up on this level and one in front of each rink door. Will cut the life saving critical period by seconds, if not minutes," Jaiven said.
While Jaiven may not return to the ice immediately, he remains optimistic about his hockey future.
"I hope to be cleared to play again this summer and continue my flailing around the ice," Jaiven joked.
Most importantly, he expressed deep gratitude for the men who saved his life.
"Chris Wysong from Hemco Gages and Rob Otis and Kevin Matrosic and Tony Yasick, those four guys are my heroes. They saved my life," Jaiven said. "I realized my mortality, and I'm certainly going to appreciate friends and family even more than I did before."
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