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EDWARDSVILLE — Employees of an area fitness center were among those honored Thursday for their part in saving a woman’s life this summer.
Planet Fitness club manager Kari Schwarz, trainer Danny Fuertes and shift manager Bryan Taskalos were provided with honorary plaques during the borough’s monthly council meeting for their roles in assisting Kingston resident Carol Centrella when she went into cardiac arrest at the gym Aug. 8.
According to Fuertes, he realized something was amiss when he noticed fellow gym member Gail Brennan struggling to stop Centrella’s treadmill.
“Right off the bat I knew something was wrong,” he explained of the incident.
Once he discovered Centrella was unable to respond, Fuertes told employees to call 911 while he stabilized her with the assistance of an off-duty nurse who belongs to the gym.
Manager Schwarz said Centrella is a regular at Planet Fitness.
She was just happy her employees knew how to act in a time of distress.
Although the fitness center has seen varying degrees of medical emergencies over the years, she said they hadn’t dealt with anything life-threatening.
“I’m just happy we strive to make sure the team is always trained and certified,” Schwarz said.
Along with employees of the fitness center, paramedics from TransMed, a responding officer and others were honored for helping save the woman.
Paramedic Dave Prohaska also awarded the group with plaques on behalf of TransMed.
Sitting front and center at the council meeting, an emotional Centrella thanked first responders while urging attendees to visit the fitness center. She’s sure she wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for the efforts of staff and fellow gym members.
“Had I been home by myself I would have been dead,” she said. “It’s nice to know that there are people there that can do that.”