Charlie Corle was at a Tucson, Ariz., park when he went into cardiac arrest

NEED TO KNOW

• A retired E.R. doctor, an off-duty paramedic and a pair of retired nurses performed CPR after Charlie Corle collapsed while playing pickleball at an Arizona park
• The group used an AED to deliver two shocks before Corle started breathing again
• Corle later reunited with his six rescuers, whom he calls “Charlie’s Angels,” at a community celebration

A group of bystanders who witnessed a man playing pickleball go into cardiac arrest at an Arizona park are being hailed as heroes after jumping into action to treat him.

Speaking with local outlet KOLD, Charlie Corle said he was playing pickleball last month at Tucson’s Udall Park when he first noticed that something was wrong.

“I stood and leaned forward, and I was able to say to myself, ‘Why do you feel dizzy?’ and that was it,” Corle, 72, said, recounting how he had just stepped up to play when he passed out.

Others at the park sprang into action — including a retired E.R. doctor.

“I came running over and saw Charlie lying on the ground, unconscious, unresponsive, not breathing,” recalled Dr. Ron Widman, who was at the scene that day. “So, I assessed him at that point in time. He had no pulse, so I started CPR, chest compressions.”

Widman wasn’t the only stranger to step up and help Corle. An off-duty Tucson paramedic began performing CPR, two retired nurses opened Corle’s airway, and two others ran to get an AED.

The group worked together to administer two shocks to Corle’s heart, and he soon began breathing again, he told KOLD.

Widman told the outlet that only about 10% of people who receive CPR from bystanders recover and can leave the hospital — so this was an “uncommon event.”

“Unbelievable. It still brings a tear to my eye,” Widman said.

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Corle recovered well after the incident — and immediately wanted to thank the group of people who came to his aid during his cardiac arrest.

Tucson’s Carondelet Health Network helped organize an event in the park to celebrate the six people who jumped into action that day. Corle has since nicknamed them “Charlie’s Angels.”

“Coming back is, again, rehab. The family is here, the community is here. We saved the community, and in turn, the community saved me,” Corle told KOLD of the special event.

“It’s just so hard to thank them every day, and you do it. You see them, you play with them, you hug them,” he added of the parkgoers who worked to save his life.

According to the American Heart Association, immediate CPR in the case of a cardiac arrest can double or triple the chances of a patient’s survival — and an AED can help even more.

Carondelet nurse Manuel Montano told KOLD that Corle’s case shows why everyone should take the time to learn proper CPR and AED use.

“A lot of these cardiac events occur in the home, and if it occurs in the home, that usually means that person is a loved one. So, the more training, the better prepared you are, the better off and the more chances of great survival are for them,” Montano said.

“The more people that can learn CPR, the more people that can learn AED use, the better off we’re going to be in the community,” he added.

The American Red Cross states that anyone who encounters a person in cardiac arrest should call 911 (or ask someone else to do so) before beginning chest compressions at a rate of 100 to 120 per minute in the center of the chest before pausing to give the patient two breaths.

Bystanders should only start CPR if the person is unresponsive and not breathing normally, the organization states, and they should use an AED as soon as one is available.

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