Fitness instructor, friends, save man’s life at Novi Athletic Club

By: Charity Meier | Novi Note | Published November 13, 2024

NOVI — A local fitness instructor has been credited with saving a man’s life after he suffered a heart attack while playing tennis at the Novi Athletic Club Oct. 18.

Chuck Ross was playing tennis with some friends at the Novi Athletic Club that morning when he suddenly collapsed at 8:58 a.m. Two of his friends started CPR as the other ran to the desk for help.

As luck would have it, fitness coordinator Kim Taylor-Papp just happened to be in earshot of the friend frantically asking for help and instinctively ran to the tennis courts. She said that the first thing to do when someone needs CPR is to tell someone to call 911 and to get an automated external defibrillator.

“I noticed they didn’t have the AED, so I ran and got the AED and instructed them to continue compressions until I got the pads on,” said Taylor-Papp, who is certified in CPR. “So it gave him a shock and then it said to continue chest compressions. So the man that was working on him probably gave him three, maybe five, compressions and then when the EMTs got there, he had a nice strong pulse.”

Taylor-Papp said that when Ross left, he was awake and alert. Ross was taken to Ascension Providence Hospital in Novi, where within two hours he had stents put into his heart. Two days later, he walked out of the hospital and was back in the gym doing light work on Monday. He said he doesn’t like sitting around, so his doctor cleared him to do 40 minutes on the treadmill.

Ross said he doesn’t recall much of the incident, as he “passed out.”

“No, you died,” his wife, Cathy, said.

Cathy Ross said that she was a witness to the incident, as she was there playing tennis on the other court.

“I saw him on the ground and they were doing CPR on him, and it was not good,” she said.

However, she said “God had a part” in the incident, as her husband does not usually play tennis on Fridays, or with the man who knew CPR, and Taylor-Papp just happened to be in earshot filling her water bottle before instructing a class when the incident happened.

“She’s special because she saved my life and I’ll never forget her — that’s for sure,” Chuck Ross said. “It’s just crazy how she was there and did the right thing and I’m still here.”

Ross is very active and never had any signs of heart disease. He said he walks, plays tennis and goes on strenuous hikes regularly.

“I’ve never had chest pain. It was just strange, even looking back on it now, it’s weird that it even happened. I’ve heard people have chest pains and things when they have a heart issue; mine was just lights out. I was running and all of a sudden, I fell,” Chuck Ross said.

Ross said the doctors told him he had a 50% to 60% blockage in the left anterior descending artery, the site known for the widowmaker heart attack, and a piece of plaque broke off and blocked the artery 100%, which is why he collapsed. He said he was very lucky that he fell backward and not on his head, and that all the right people happened to be there at that time.

He said that his friends are saying, “If it can happen to Chuck, it can happen to any of us.” So, Cathy Ross and their friends are looking into Life Line Screening, which assesses risk for heart attacks and strokes.

Although the Rosses and Taylor-Papp both frequented the athletic club, they had never formally met. So, during the last week of October, Chuck and Cathy Ross made a point to meet Taylor-Papp and thank her for saving his life. According to Taylor-Papp, the three of them now have a special bond. Chuck Ross said that the doctor credited the use of the AED as what saved his life.

“That shock saved my life. She saved my life,” Chuck Ross said.

“He had no rhythm, so the shock that was given to him was enough to give his heart some rhythm and wake him up,’ Taylor-Papp said. “But it took a village, I tell you, to get this man where he is today.”

Taylor-Papp, who has been a fitness instructor for nearly 40 years, has maintained her certification for “decades,” but this was the first time she had to utilize her CPR and AED skills. Fitness instructors are required to maintain certification, but she said she thinks it is a skill that everyone should have, as you never know when you might need it.

“Saving a life is not something everybody does on a regular basis, that’s for sure, and I had the wherewithal (to get the AED),” she said.

“It is pretty amazing that he is still here today,” she said. “For me, it is still beyond comprehension that this is something I played a role in. I played a role in saving somebody’s life, and it is still hard for me to comprehend emotionally.”

As a result of the incident, the Rosses said they are now registered to take a CPR class with the Novi Fire Department. They said they hope they never need to utilize it but want to be able to help someone in the event that CPR is needed.

“I wouldn’t want somebody else to have a heart attack, but I just want to be ready if they need help for sure, and the more of us that can do that (CPR), the more of us that can survive it — that’s for sure,” Chuck Ross said.

CPR classes are readily available through the Novi Fire Department and the American Red Cross. For more information on CPR training with the Red Cross, visit redcross.org to sign up or contact the Red Cross Training Support Center at (800) 733-2767. You can also email support@redcrosstraining.org.   

The Novi Fire Department typically holds CPR classes on the first Wednesday of each month. Classes are free for Novi residents or $45 per student for nonresidents. Call Novi Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services at (248) 347-0400 for availability.