Plano Lifeguards Save Table Tennis Player With CPR, AED at Recreation Center

Zelong Dong was mid-game at the table tennis tables inside Carpenter Park Recreation Center on February 20 when he collapsed in cardiac arrest. What unfolded in the next few minutes would determine not just whether he survived, but whether his brain would survive with him.

Lifeguards Zane Arnold, Christopher Gardener and Brandon Lekas reached Dong immediately and began CPR. They retrieved the facility's automated external defibrillator and delivered two shocks before Plano Fire-Rescue crews reached the building. By the time paramedics walked through the door, Dong already had a pulse.

He was transported to the hospital and later discharged neurologically intact, an outcome Plano Fire-Rescue officials describe as rare following cardiac arrest. The statistics explain why: survival to hospital discharge after an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest runs below 10 percent in the United States, but early bystander CPR combined with defibrillation delivered within three minutes can push survival rates as high as 74 percent in cases involving a shockable heart rhythm. The difference, in both scenarios, is measured in minutes.

"We worked as a team, and with proper training we were able to handle the situation," lifeguard Brandon Lekas said. "At the end of the day, life is precious, and it's good that he gets to live out the moments and celebrate."

On March 19, Plano Fire-Rescue honored Arnold, Gardener and Lekas at a ceremony held at the same Carpenter Park Recreation Center where they had saved Dong a month earlier. Each received a certificate, patch and challenge coin. Dong and his family attended and presented plaques of appreciation to paramedics and parks and recreation staff.

"I shouldn't be able to stand here, but I'm standing here all because of you," Dong told the lifeguards. "You are the reason I can get home and see my wife and play with my friends again and enjoy everyday life. From the bottom of my heart, thank you."

Battalion Chief Ryan Strutton of Plano Fire-Rescue offered perspective on what the three lifeguards had actually accomplished. "Putting that training into action without hesitation takes a special individual," he said. "That is not a normal thing, no matter how much training you have."

For Collin County residents who want that capability, training is close. The American Red Cross offers CPR and AED certification courses in Plano. Texas Heart CPR Training, at 2600 K Ave., Suite 135 in Plano, can be reached at (214) 592-7088 and runs American Heart Association Heartsaver and BLS courses Monday through Saturday. The CPR Training Clinic in Plano, also AHA-authorized, offers Heartsaver CPR and AED certification with same-day credentialing and explicitly serves Collin County. Plano Fire-Rescue's community outreach and education office coordinates additional public safety programming for city residents.

Anyone who regularly uses a recreation center, gym or pool should locate the nearest AED before they need it, confirm that on-site staff holds current CPR certification, and be prepared to give 911 a precise address the moment something goes wrong. Zelong Dong's outcome was rare; the training that produced it does not have to be.