Tim Kalohn, general manager of the Oxford Hills Golf Club, saved the life of an 80-year-old man who went into cardiac arrest on the course last week. Photo by C.J. Carnacchio.

Usually, the most exciting thing that can happen on a golf course is a player making a hole in one.

But Tim Kalohn, general manager of the Oxford Hills Golf Club at 300 E. Drahner Rd., can easily top that – he saved a person’s life.

“I was just doing what I thought you should do,” he said.

On Monday, June 18, Lakeville resident Robert Skipinski, 80, was playing on the 18-hole public course when he went into cardiac arrest.

“I don’t remember much after the sixth hole because I collapsed and that was it,” he said. “I just collapsed – no heart pain, no nothing . . . (Later on,) I had to ask what happened because I didn’t know.”

Kalohn had just finished golfing in his league and was sitting in the dining room when “one of the kids who works here came running in and said there was a guy down out on the course.”

Someone had already called 9-1-1, so Kalohn jumped in a cart and was rushed to the scene.

He found the victim on the ground. Kalohn said he was “unresponsive” and described his breathing as “very faint” and “sporadic.”

Kalohn immediately began administering Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) in the form of chest compressions.

He did this for about 3 minutes, at which point Oxford Fire Capt. Ron Jahlas arrived on scene.

According to Jahlas, Skipinski did not have a pulse when he got there and was engaged in agonal breathing.

Agonal respiration occurs when a person is struggling to breathe, or gasping for air, due to cardiac arrest or other medical emergency. It happens when the heart ceases to circulate oxygenated blood or when lung activity is interrupted, decreasing the intake of oxygen. Agonal breathing signals that a person is near death and can vary in the way it sounds. It can include gasping, gurgling, snorting, moaning or labored breathing.

“It’s not effective breathing,” Jahlas explained. “It’s an occasional gasp, but it is not effective breathing and it will not sustain any life.”

According to Jahlas, he did not have to deliver an electric shock to restore the rhythm of Skipinski’s heart.

“He came back simply with CPR,” he said. “Approximately 1 minute after we got there, the patient started breathing on his own and regained a pulse.”

Jahlas described the chest compressions administered by Kalohn as “high quality.”

“He was doing a great job,” he said.

Jahlas gave Kalohn credit for the save.

“Without Tim’s early CPR, as a paramedic and a CPR instructor, I fully believe that this patient would not have survived,” said the captain, who has been with the Oxford Fire Department since 1994.

“Early-bystander CPR is critical in the chain of survival,” Jahlas explained. “Having someone on scene, performing CPR until advanced techniques can arrive gives the patient the best possible outcome. For every minute that goes by without chest compressions being done, the patient survival rate decreases by 10 percent.”

Kalohn, who’s in his 25th year at Oxford Hills, was later informed that Skipinski was doing well. Receiving that news made him “feel amazing”

“His son called me the next morning and thanked me, which I thought was pretty nice,” he noted.

On Monday, June 25 – exactly one week later – Skipinski visited Oxford Hills to express his gratitude to Kalohn.

“I can’t thank him enough,” said Skipinski, the next day. “I went and thanked Tim yesterday and I went and thanked (the Oxford Fire Department) yesterday. They saved my life – gave me a few more years, even though I am 80, but that’s beside the point.”

“He came in and shook my hand,” Kalohn said. “God, he looked great – (his) color and everything. It was amazing . . . He said he hasn’t felt this good in quite a while, so that’s good. It was nice to see him. I’m glad he came in. To have a recovery like that in a week after seeing him the way he was (on June 18) is amazing.”

Two days after his collapse on the course, Skipinski had a pacemaker put in.

He wished to note that what happened to him was the result of a problem with his heart, not the high temperature that day.

“It had nothing to do with the heat. I (want) to stress that,” Skipinski said. “This could have happened in bed at night. I could have died right there in bed and that would have been that. That would have been the end of it.”

Kalohn knew what to do in this situation because he took a CPR class about three years ago. His girlfriend was taking it because she was going to be a personal trainer, so he decided to enroll as well.

“I thought, ‘I’m around a lot of seniors all day, every day. This isn’t a bad idea,’” he said.
Jahlas agreed.

“Having an employee at a local business (who knows) how to properly perform CPR and (is) willing to help out another person in need, obviously gives (victims a) greater chance of survival,” he said.

Kalohn wished to thank the Oxford Fire Department for its “quick response.”

“They were great,” he said.