Friends turn lifesavers after man goes into cardiac arrest during broomball game

A competitive game of broomball turned into an emergency situation when one of the players went into cardiac arrest – fortunately, his friends were on hand to save his life.

Matthew Lund collapsed while playing in goal at Hazelnut Park in Arden Hills last month, but thanks to the quick thinking of his fellow players, his heart was restarted and he has been able to make a full recovery.

This past week, the New Brighton Department of Public Safety honored three of his fellow players, as well as several emergency responders, with Life Saving Awards at a city council meeting.

According to the department's Facebook page, Lund was spotted by his friends immobile on the ice, and was found to have no pulse and was not breathing. While the emergency services were called, his friends Aaron Briggs, a personal trainer who had recently become certified in CPR, and Grant Dawson set about saving his life.

Briggs performed chest compressions while Dawson carried out rescue breathing, while another friend, Mike Johnson, recognized the need for a defibrillator and ran to the nearby Trinity Lutheran Church to get one.

By the time he returned, New Brighton police officer Brian DeDominces was on the scene, who administered two "shocks" with the defibrillator, before paramedics Barb Schley and Kimberley Hedger arrived, shortly after which Lund regained his pulse and started breathing again.

According to KSTP, the emergency workers credit the CPR administered by his friends, the conveniently placed community defibrillator and the quick arrival of police and paramedics for Lund's survival.