MENLO PARK, Calif. — Kenneth Erdahl was cold to the touch and turning yellow when Menlo Park, Calif., police officer Matthew Saylor found him under his work truck two weeks ago.
"I thought to myself, this does not look good," Saylor said. "He was completely lifeless."
Erdahl, 51, had suffered a major heart attack while upgrading some television network equipment in the back of Round Table Pizza on El Camino Real. His co-worker was the first to find him on the ground, where Erdahl struggled for about a minute before losing consciousness.
By the time Saylor arrived, Erdahl had been out for close to four minutes. Saylor said he's positive Erdahl didn't have a pulse, meaning that Erdahl's vital organs were not getting oxygen.
"There was nothing – I'm sure of that," Saylor said.
Quick action is critical. CPR is used to pump blood and oxygen to vital organs until paramedics arrive with the proper medical tools for handling someone undergoing a cardiac arrest.
Saylor immediately started giving chest compressions and rescue breaths until paramedics arrived about four minutes later. The Menlo Park Fire Protection District team put Erdahl on an automated CPR machine and quickly detected a slight pulse after shocking him twice before they transported him to Stanford.
Two weeks later Erdahl, sounding upbeat and energetic at his home in Alameda, said he remembers nothing of the event.
"It's unbelievable," his wife, Margaret, said. "Basically, he was dead, and (Saylor) helped bring him back."
Once Erdhal finally came to, he met Saylor for the first time.
"I was crying, and all I could do was give him a big hug and say thank you,' " Erdahl said.
Saylor has been with Menlo Park Police Department about two years. Before that, he worked as corrections officer in a prison and served in the military. During that time he also taught American Red Cross CPR classes.
"I've had situations in which I've had to do CPR, but I've never had anybody that far gone," Saylor said.
"I was fighting for him when he was in the hospital," Saylor said. "When you're that close in a life-and-death situation, I think there is an unmistakable connection. It doesn't really matter who they are. It's a remarkable feeling."
