Tenn. Professor Saved by Hands-Only CPR After Collapsing

NASHVILLE, Tenn.

Thousands of people got up bright and early Thanksgiving Day to run and benefit the homeless at the annual Boulevard Bolt, but it wasn't a race without complications.

Germain Boer, 73, collapsed about a mile into the race. Police said the Vanderbilt University accounting professor was helped by several doctors, including a Smyrna husband-and-wife nurse team and the head of Vanderbilt Emergency Medicine, who were running by in the race.

Boer was purple, had a fluttering heartbeat and was minutes away from death, according to Vanderbilt's Dr. Corey Slovis, who's also in charge of medical care for both the Nashville Fire Department and the Nashville International Airport.

"He was in full cardiac arrest. He had no pulse," Slovis said. "One person was counting out the cadence for compression-only CPR; someone else was pumping."

There was also an ambulance close to Boer that was able to take him to Saint Thomas Hospital. Three ambulances were on the course. The 35-year physician rode in the ambulance with Boer, continually performing CPR.

"You can run a race any time; helping to save a life is something to treasure," Slovis said.

Doctors said that man wasn't doing well at the time, but those two things helped out tremendously. Boer was in critical condition Friday at Saint Thomas.

Slovis stressed the importance of hands-only CPR. He said many people think they have to do compressions and mouth-to-mouth when someone collapses. In Boer's case, the volunteers used the hands-only method, 2 inches down on the chest.

Slovis later received a call from the professor's son, thanking him for saving his father's life.

This year was a record-breaker for the 17-year-old race: There were 8,710 participants in the five-mile run-walk Thursday, including Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan.

One couple also got engaged during the race.

As for the winner -- Brock Baker -- he finished in 25 minutes, 5 seconds. He said he's training for the Olympic marathon trials next year.

Reporter Jonathan Martin contributed to this story.

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