Madras CPR instructor passes own test, revives mayor

Madras resident Bob Ringering has taught classes on cardiopulmonary resuscitation countless times, on the job and even since retiring. And he said people always ask if he’s ever had a chance to use his CPR skills to help save someone’s life.

The answer was always no — that is, until last Wednesday, when he came to the aid of Madras Mayor Richard Ladeby, who had just collapsed on the city’s golf course.

“We have a group game every Wednesday and Friday, starts at noon” at High Desert Golf Club, Ringering recalled Friday.

“I was there a little early, hitting some balls on the No. 5 green,” which parallels the No. 1 hole where Ladeby was playing, he said.

Ringering said when he retired from his job in risk management with the Special Districts Association of Oregon, they asked if he’d continue teaching CPR classes.

Last Wednesday, after Ladeby collapsed, Jefferson County EMS responded, as did Life Flight, which flew him to St. Charles Bend.

But all that happened after Ringering did just as he’s taught so many times before, using CPR when called upon in an emergency situation.

Ringering contacted NewsChannel 21 on Friday not to claim any type of special, heroic deed, only to correct an error in initial reports indicating that the newer, hands-only CPR had been used to resuscitate Ladeby.

Ringering is a strong supporter of the original CPR method, which also involves “rescue breaths” – puffs of air given to the person in “mouth to mouth” fashion. He said that’s especially important if you don’t know how long it’s been since the person fell ill.

“I teach CPR and have a little segment in my classes where I give compression only, right at the end of the full CPR. I feel it’s very, very important to do the breaths, along with the compressions,” he said.

“If you see a person fall in front of you,” Ringering said, chest compressions alone (to the beat of the BeeGee’s “Stayin’ Alive” is what the experts suggest) can be enough to restart a heart and hopefully save a life.

But in this case, “I did not see him fall,” Ringering said. “I was almost to the No. 5 green, and this guy behind me was yelling, ‘Hey, hey!’ He was over at the No. 2 tee box and saw him laying on the ground.”

Ringering said he’d never met Ladeby before and didn’t know until later that he’d performed CPR on the city’s mayor.

By Friday, Ladeby was recovering well enough that Ringering paid a visit to him and his wife — both very thankful, of course — at the hospital. He also learned that both he and Ladeby are 66, but the mayor will turn 67 in two weeks – thanks in large part to his actions that day.

“He’s doing very well,” Ringering said. “I was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”

Want to know the basic steps, or take a CPR class? Here’s the Red Cross page.