AED saves skier on Labrador Mountain

You hear about saves from automated external defibrillators now and then--but not nearly enough.

My (Syracuse) Post-Standard this morning tells about a 53-year-old skier who was shocked back to life recently at a ski center south of Syracuse. What's extra-neat is the woman involved in saving his life, Kathy Sherlock. Her parents created a fund to give organizations AEDs, in honor of her brother, Jim Dwyer, Jr., who died of heart failure at the age of 31 in 1998.

Sherlock told the newspaper she was skiing at Labrador Mountain with friends recently when they came upon a little girl standing next to a man lying in the snow. An EMT started CPR, and ski patrol delivered the mountain's AED. It was the first time it had been used since Labrador got it eight years ago, and it was the first time Sherlock had seen an AED used in real life.

"He was pretty lucky," Sherlock said of the man. "We've been told he's recovering nicely."