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A fishing trip to Lake Ontario could have ended in tragedy for one man had his two friends not come to his rescue.
Kingston Township resident Michael Lykon and Richard Snowdon, of Dallas, were accompanying a third friend on what was supposed to be a relaxing vacation filled with fun times and fishing when their pal suffered a heart attack.
Lykon and Snowdon quickly came to the rescue of their friend after he collapsed and became unresponsive on the deck of “The Other Woman,” providing CPR and chest compressions until the boat came to shore and medics arrived.
For their heroic actions, the men were awarded the Good Samaritan Hero Award during the American Red Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania’s annual “A Celebration of Heroes” event, held at Mohegan Sun recently.
Previously, they were given a Certificate of Merit for saving their friend’s life by the United States Coast Guard in December. The award is bestowed upon those who have made significant contributions to one of the Coast Guard’s missions.
“It’s nice to be honored, the biggest day is celebrating that my friend had lived during this episode,” Lykon told a Fox56 news reporter at the time. “Thank God, I was trained and able to help him when he had the heart attack.”
Lykon had been regularly receiving training from the American Red Cross for his job, allowing him and Snowdon to perform the much-needed, life-saving skills for 20 minutes – even on a boat in choppy waters.
Although Snowdon was unable to attend the Red Cross ceremony, he previously stated that the recognition for his actions were humbling – although unexpected.
He said that he was just grateful that he was able to save the life of a friend.