Life savers honoured

Bruce Roberts was given second lease on life thanks to a pair of complete strangers.

Roberts was playing golf at Predator Ridge earlier this year when he collapsed from a heart attack.

Beau Lucas, who is a volunteer firefighter in Vernon, and Stan Brooks, a former longtime member of the RCMP, began doing CPR on Roberts until paramedics arrived, saving his life.

At a ceremony Friday, Lucas and Brooks received the BC Emergency Health Services Vital Link award.

And of course, they also received the eternal gratitude of Roberts and his family.

“I find it's hard to find words,” Roberts said when asked what he would like to say to Lucas and Brooks.

“When you think about great moments in your life like when you were born, well I was re-born that's another great moment. But this award is really important to me because we struggle for ways to recognize life savers. It's just the greatest gift you can give somebody.”

Brooks said it was a “very humbling experience.

“There were a lot of factors that made that a successful day and I just happened to be one of them. I was certainly relieved when Beau and the paramedics arrived to take over from me. It was just a great moment for all of us and I'm just very happy Bruce survived the odds that day.

“There was a lot of people who played a role in that life-saving event and I just happened to be one of them.”