An Ottawa runner posted online asking 'Did you save my life?' Then he got an answer

Joseph Tunney · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 27, 2025 1:29 PM EDT | Last Updated: 3 hours ago

Tommy Chan knows helium ran 5 kilometres connected Tuesday, May 20. He conscionable doesn't retrieve it.

In fact, helium doesn't callback thing from that day — waking up days aboriginal successful haze astatine the University of Ottawa Heart Institute aft suffering what helium says was a post-run bosom attack.

"I don't adjacent retrieve the massage therapy oregon going to people beforehand," Chan said.

"I conscionable cognize thing astir what happened that day, oregon the adjacent four."

Tech helps capable successful blanks

Since his collapse, the 39-year-old says he's done immoderate detective enactment successful an effort to retrieve the missing pieces and larn much astir the radical who saved his life. 

The moving app Strava tells him helium finished his 5K run astir Bronson and Carling astatine 7:50 p.m. His Garmin smartwatch, which is linked to Strava, shows his bosom complaint passim that chill outpouring day. 

A noticeable spike Chan assumes is his evening tally is followed by a abrupt deficiency of immoderate readings astatine all: the illustration goes blank.  

But what his tech doesn't archer him is thing astir those who lent a hand.

Chan says helium was apt walking location erstwhile his bosom gave out, with paramedics saying they responded to the country adjacent the intersection of Carling and Champagne avenues astir 8:50 p.m., uncovering an big antheral successful cardiac arrest. 

Ottawa Fire Services besides responded, utilizing a defibrillator to administer a shock, with the exigency teams yet capable to get his bosom backmost to a much mean rhythm. 

But earlier immoderate of that, bystanders initiated CPR nether the absorption of the paramedics services' connection officers.  

"This teamwork betwixt bystanders, firefighters and paramedics intelligibly shows the value of the concatenation of survival," said Marc-Antoine Deschamps, superintendent for the Ottawa Paramedic Service successful an emailed statement. 

'Did you prevention my life?'

Chan inactive feels those bully deeds: the breached ribs helium was near with are a achy reminder of the kindness of others. Besides the soreness successful his chest, he's besides felt a tendency to scope retired and fto others cognize he's inactive alive. 

"If I were a Good Samaritan, that would beryllium chill to cognize that this idiosyncratic is doing OK," helium said.

Now helium has astatine slightest 1 idiosyncratic helium tin convey aft posting astir his enigma online nether the heading, "Did you prevention my life?"

Tawnya Shimizu is simply a caregiver practitioner who was with her girl that time erstwhile the 2 saw a commotion to the broadside of their car. Already radical had gathered astir an unconscious Chan lying connected the ground.

"I could perceive the 9-1-1 relation giving directions connected CPR and counting retired the timing," she said. "So my girl was instantly like, 'Mommy, you're a nurse. You request to help!'"

'Weighed connected our minds'

Introducing herself, she took implicit CPR until exigency services arrived. She said she entered enactment mode astatine that moment.

Only erstwhile it was each said and done was she near with a enigma of her own: what happened to Chan aft the ambulance drove away?

"It's decidedly weighed connected our minds, to benignant of wonderment if helium was OK and if helium survived," she said.

Cardiologist Simon Hansom, director of Inherited Arrhythmia Clinic astatine the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, says bystander CPR is "the fig 1 happening you tin bash to prevention people."

"You bash your best," the doc said. "If someone's had a cardiac arrest, you're not going to marque them immoderate worse than they already are."

After connecting online, Shimizu, her daughter and Chan present person plans to conscionable this play — with Chan having the accidental to explicit his gratitude to Shimizu unrecorded connected aerial connected CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning on Friday morning.  

"The biggest convey you," Chan said. "I don't cognize what other to say. Like, I can't judge you were astatine the close spot astatine the close time. So I don't cognize however I tin ne'er repay you."

"You're precise welcome," Shimizu said. "I deliberation everyone who helped you that time conscionable did it due to the fact that that's quality nature."