Doctor pulls over to help collapsed runner

A doctor driving by the Edmonton Marathon on Sunday rushed to the aid of a man who collapsed and stopped breathing just blocks away from the finish line. The man was resuscitated by Dr. Tamara Kuzma, who rushed from her car to assist a police officer and administer CPR at Jasper Avenue and 103 Street.

A spokesperson at Alberta Health Services and race organizers said they didn’t have any information on the status of the man when contacted Sunday evening.

He was running toward the finish of the half-marathon when he collapsed on the road face-first, witness Courtney Repchinsky said. She was watching the race from the corner.

Kuzma was in her vehicle waiting to cross Jasper Avenue when she saw the man in his mid-20s lying on the ground. There was a police officer with him and, after the man didn’t move for about 15 seconds, she decided to help, Kuzma said later in the afternoon.

Kuzma, a doctor in Saskatoon, said the man wasn’t responding so herself and the police officer checked his pulse and initially found a heartbeat. But he still remained motionless and so they checked again and found the man stopped breathing.

“We noticed that the pulse was absent so obviously the heart had stopped,” she said. “So we decided to do CPR.” Kuzma said she did CPR for about 30 seconds, noting it was brief, before the man started breathing again. The police officer had called for an ambulance.

When emergency crews arrived on scene, Kuzma said she let them take control of the situation.

Kuzma said she acted quickly as a “typical doctor reaction” to help and is reluctant to take any credit or recognition.