Three people who saved tennis partner by CPR are honored - WTRF 7 News Sports Weather - Wheeling Steubenville

When a Wheeling man had a heart attack on the tennis court in February, his three friends and fellow players were able to save his life.

Not only did they know CPR, but they also knew where Wheeling Park's AED unit was kept, and they used it just in time.

On Tuesday, those three "life savers" were honored at the Wheeling Council meeting, along with the man whose life they saved.

58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson of Wheeling remembers feeling faint, then he passed out.

Luckily, he was playing tennis with a Wheeling Police officer, a doctor and a nurse.

And they all knew what to do.

Officer Tyler Wilson, Dr. Harold Pickens and Nurse Chrissy Edwards were all honored by council for taking quick action when their friend and tennis partner had a heart attack.

"I've learned that CPR is a very important thing to learn in life because you never know when you'll need it to help save someone else's life," says Jeffrey Johnson, who survived the heart attack.

"It's one of those things that everyone needs to know," says Nurse Chrissy Edwards. "You hope you'll never have to use it but you never know. Thankfully we were all prepared and knew what to do."

"When Chrissy mentioned the defibrillator, I knew where it was in the park," said Dr. Harold Pickens. "She continued doing CPR while I ran to get it. And it was a great outcome."

Pickens, an eye doctor, had taken a CPR course years ago.

The day after Jeffrey Johnson's heart attack, Dr. Pickens signed up to take a refresher course.

In the meantime, Johnson is recovering from a quintuple bypass, and he hopes to ease back into playing tennis starting next month.