The St. Louis Cardinals may have clinched a division title on Sunday by beating the Chicago Cubs, but the real win came before the first pitch, byway of Derrick Goold, the man usually responsible for telling the story rather than being it.
Goold, the lead Cardinals beat writer for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, performed CPR on 64-year-old videographer Mike Flanary, who collapsed in the dugout prior to the game.
According to the Post-Disppatch, Goold knows CPR from his days as a lifeguard and Eagle Scout, and took immediate action when Flanary needed help. Goold continued CPR until the Cubs’ medical staff arrived, followed by emergency medical personnel, who transferred Flanary to a local hospital.
Flanary is in “critical but stable” condition after suffering a heart attack and stroke.
“So many people are afraid of doing CPR. But, because of (Goold’s) actions, he was the first link in that chain of survival,” Dr. David Tan, the stadium doctor who was on duty, told the Post-Dispatch.
“It’s fabulous. It was the early CPR by Derrick Goold that probably saved his life. Derrick wasn’t afraid. He didn’t hesitate. And he did it.
“In the medical field, when you save somebody like this, they call it a clinical save. This is a clinical save that was started by Derrick Goold. Period.”
Goold has not commented publicly on the incident, but his proud wife posted this on Twitter:
“My husband is a dogged, intrepid reporter and an incredible writer. More importantly, @dgoold
is also a damn good person, who jumps in to help when and where he is needed. Hoping the gentleman he assisted today makes a full and quick recovery.”
If you look at Goold’s Twitter bio, it reads, “Lead Cardinals beat writer for St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Proud father. Bookworm. Lapsed cartoonist. World Record-holding INF. Friendly neighborhood word slinger.”
He won’t write it himself, but “hero” would easily fit there, too.
