A Yorkton man will be receiving a life-saving award from St. John’s Ambulance (SJA).
On Feb. 6, Darren Katzell was in Saskatoon for the birth of his first grandchild. He had arranged to meet his brother Chris at the Centre Mall (8th Street and Circle Drive). They met up at the food court and as they were making plans, Darren heard a commotion right behind them.
“I looked up and saw Sonia [Worobitz] choking and then instinct just kind of kicked in,” he recalled.
That instinct he described as a natural human instinct to help. Fortunately, by virtue of his job at the Mosaic potash mine near Esterhazy where he is an emergency response technician, Darren happened to have the training to help.
As Sonia started to lose consciousness, Darren performed the Heimlich Manoeuvre and Chris called 911.
Chris also helped calm Sonia’s daughter, Michelle Hansen, and granddaughter, Paige, who were panicking, as Darren dislodged the food caught in the Sturgis woman’s throat.
“It was a pretty intense situation,” Darren said.
This was the first time he put his skills to use and although well-trained and rehearsed, Darren explained there are a lot of different factors that come into play in an actual emergency, such as anatomical diversity and what is going on around you etc.
“The funny thing is, you can have all the training you want, but until you’re in that real life situation, you don’t know,” he said.
In the heat of the moment, the family did not get Darren and Chris’s contact information, but later tracked them down via social media and expressed their gratitude again.
Josh Haugerud, director of community services with St. John’s Ambulance Saskatchewan Council, said Darren’s award is currently being processed and he should be presented with it within a couple of months. The council is pleased it was SJA training that gave Darren the required skills for this situation.
While he will accept the honour from SJA, he does not see himself as a hero.
“I saw somebody who needed help and I helped,” he said.
