'Brothers for life': N.S. hockey player grateful for teammates' quick thinking after heart attack

HALIFAX -

Mark Pottie is forever grateful to the men who helped save his life after he experienced a heart attack during a game of pick-up hockey last month.

The 51-year-old joins a group of men every Sunday night at the Centennial Arena in Halifax’s Fairview neighbourhoodfor a game of hockey – a sport he has been playing since he was four years old.

Pottie recalls that night he didn’t feel any different than any other time he’s played the sport.

“I guess I was on the ice for about 15 to 20 minutes and the boys tell me I went down, scored a goal, turned around,then I hit the blue line and collapsed,” he explains. “These guys jumped on me and for all intents and purposes, saved my life.”

His teammates say, at first they thought he might have been having a seizure, but as things progressed, they realized it was much more serious.

“We called 911, grabbed the AED, took his top gear off, and we started some chest compressions,” explains teammate Ryan Graves.

Graves credits his first aid training and the arena’s two automated external defibrillators for helping to save Pottie’s life.

“If your employer offers the ability to take first aid and it’s paid for, do it. And if it isn’t, save a few bucks and do it. Because it could literally save someone’s life. It is an invaluable thing to do, and I think everyone should have the opportunity to take a first-aid course.”

Teammate Rob Strangward says it was amazing to see everyone work together.

He says paramedics arrived within 25 minutes.

“We were all pretty nervous about the outcome because it wasn’t certain, at all,” says Strangward. “But he’s doing a lot better now, and thank God.”

As for Pottie, he says his doctors have cleared him to play again, but just to be sure, he says he will wait another month before he laces up his skates.

He says it’s hard to put into words just how grateful he is for the life-saving help he received from his teammates.

“I can’t say enough to these guys. Myself, my family, apparently everyone I know, is 150 per cent behind these guys, nothing but respect, they are brothers for life. I love them.”