Dr. Taylor Curley, a leading resident of the University of Florida Small Animal Hospital’s emergency and critical care team, found herself in an unexpected situation during the annual Key West Half Marathon and 5K race in mid-January. While accompanying four colleagues, she ended up performing life-saving measures on a fellow runner.
Curley had stepped back from her team for a nature break, only to resume running around the 12-mile mark. As she began running again, she witnessed 57-year-old Mike Raymond from Pennsylvania collapse due to a seizure.
“I asked people around me to call for medical help, and about one minute into his seizure, he took a really deep breath, and he turned pale,” Curley said to Running USA. “It kind of looked like he had left his body. He was grey, and his pupils were fixed. I just knew he had died.”
Without hesitation, Curley initiated CPR, aided by Kathryn Nass, a retired emergency nurse volunteering at the event.
They then got hold of an automated external defibrillator (AED) from a nearby cruise ship while Dr. Ann Giovanni, an emergency physician from Miami, also lent her expertise.
“It took a while,” Curley said. “We defibrillated him once, and after around eight or nine minutes, EMS arrived and took him away. At that point, he had a heartbeat again.”
Dr. Giovanni praised Curley’s decisive actions, emphasizing the importance of securing an AED promptly. Raymond, whose family history included heart disease, was fulfilling a long-held aspiration with the race when the incident occurred.
“I’ve been an ER doctor for 12 years, and they had it under control,” said Giovanni. “Taylor was doing an amazing job. I just started screaming for someone to get an AED. A guy nearby said there was one on the boat and ran to get it. He came back with the defibrillator, and they shocked him with it and got a pulse back.”
Following major heart bypass surgery, Raymond is now recuperating at home, grateful for the individuals who intervened during his ordeal. He aims to reconnect with Curley and Giovanni for future races in Key West.
“The last thing I remember is that I took a picture of the cruise ship at Mile 12. Right after that, I went down. I had no symptoms whatsoever,” said Raymond.
“Two days after that Sunday morning, I woke up at Mount Sinai with tubes all in me,” he added. “I’ve done 28 half-marathons and eight full marathons, but this was my dream race and on my bucket list.”
Lorena, Raymond’s wife, stood at the finish line, eagerly awaiting his arrival. Glancing at her phone’s “Life360” app, a location-tracking tool, she noticed his stationary position.
Concerned, she waited for three minutes, but there was still no movement. Fearing the worst, she dialed his phone, only for a police officer to answer on the other end.
“He told her, ‘All I can say is that your husband collapsed,’” Raymond said.
Both Curley and Giovanni expressed gratitude for being present to aid Raymond in his moment of need.
“It was a great outcome that we don’t see often,” Giovanni said. “The stars aligned that day for Mike in regards to who was in close proximity. It also highlights the importance of knowing CPR.”
Ironically, prior to the race, Curley had joined her mentors and colleagues for a group photo sporting T-shirts bearing the message, “Please Resuscitate.”
Barbara Wright, founder of the Key West Half Marathon, recounted a similar incident from seven years prior, where another runner’s life had been saved through the prompt actions of medically trained individuals.
