Lifelong swimmer Tom Koellhoffer was eager to return to the water when he arrived at River Crossing YMCA’s Quakertown Branch on March 11, 2025. His daughter gifted him a Y membership so he could resume swimming after recovering from a heart attack.

He checked in at the front desk, changed into his suit and spoke with on-duty lifeguard Jodie Hart about his exercise plan.

Tom doesn’t remember any of it. He woke up a few days later in a hospital intensive care unit to learn he had suffered sudden cardiac arrest.

“I don’t remember coming here. I don’t remember changing into my suit. I don’t remember a thing about that day,” he said during a return visit to the Y eight months later.

It’s a day Jodie and fellow lifeguards Kai Butcher and Ruth Clement will never forget.

Ordinary Afternoon, Extraordinary Heroes

It was a typical afternoon at the Quakertown YMCA. Jodie was scanning the water as she walked the pool’s perimeter.  Kai was on a lifeguard rotation in the Y’s health and wellness area. Ruth was off duty, but in the pool nevertheless, helping a friend train for a high school state swimming competition.

From across the pool, Jodie noticed Tom resting along the shallow end pool wall and knew something was wrong.

“He looked blue,” she recalled.

She activated the Y’s emergency action plan, alerting staff, and rushed toward Tom.

Ruth saw the situation unfold from the pool’s deep end as she warmed up with a kickboard.

“Something that really has stuck with me about it is that I don't usually kick with a kickboard because I have had shoulder issues,” she said.

That choice mattered. Because her head was above water, she spotted the emergency right away.

“I saw it happen. Because if my head had been in the water, I probably wouldn't have known anything was wrong for marginally longer.”

She grabbed a rescue board and swam to Tom. With the help of her nearby swim coach, Ruth and Jodie maneuvered him onto the pool deck.

Ruth did an initial assessment. When she couldn’t find a pulse, Jodie began chest compressions.

By then, YMCA staff had called 9-1-1 and brought an AED and oxygen to the scene. When Kai arrived, he took over chest compressions so Jodie could give breaths. As they performed CPR, the AED advised a shock.

“It’s just like you see on TV; the body actually jolts,” Jodie said.

After each shock, the AED analyzed Tom’s vitals.

“His heartbeat was in and out,” Kai explained. “It would stabilize for a little bit, then go out again.”

Jodie and Kai completed two rounds of CPR and administered three shocks before EMTs arrived about 20 minutes later.

Looking back, Kai remembers “a lot of reacting” during his response to the emergency.  “It’s so drilled in. There’s no time to think. You just do it.”

Jodie recalled her emotions as EMT’s carted Tom out.

“In the moment, you don’t have time to cry; you just have to keep going. And then when he left, I cried for a really long time.”

Trained for the Moments That Matter

Tom knows he’s lucky. The survival rate for cardiac arrests outside of a hospital is less than10%. Those who live without any loss of brain function are even fewer. But immediate CPR can double or even triple someone’s chance of survival.

During a speech at the YMCA’s Impact Gala in October, Tom credited the quick actions of Kai, Ruth and Jodie.

“They administered CPR immediately and effectively and kept my brain oxygenated for approximately 20 minutes,” he said. “These three wonderful young people proceeded to keep me alive until EMT arrival.”

Mastering these skills is part of becoming an American Red Cross-certified lifeguard. Candidates must complete more than 25 hours of instruction, demonstrate aquatic competency, pass a written exam and perform three skill assessments, including a multiple rescuer response scenario like the one that saved Tom.

Lifeguards are recertified every two years. Jodie and Kai trained together and were recertified just a few weeks before Tom’s cardiac arrest. Becky Musselman, senior aquatics director at the Y’s Doylestown branch, was their instructor. She also oversaw Ruth's certification in October 2023.

The group received Red Cross Lifesaving Awards for their heroic efforts. Kai, Ruth and Jodie earned  Lifesaving Awards for Professional Responders, given to first responders who save or sustain a life outside of a medical setting. Becky received a Lifesaving Instructor Award for training the three lifeguards.

“Just knowing and seeing this aftermath is awesome – the knowledge that what I do matters,” she said.

After hugs all around, Tom helped Lynn Cohen, Red Cross Delaware Valley Chapter executive director, present their certificates during a joyful reunion with YMCA staff.

Behind the Whistle

Ruth describes becoming a lifeguard as “a rite of passage” for kids like her who grew up swimming.  

“It’s like, you turn 15, and all of these skills of swimming and maintaining yourself in the water are already endowed in you for years,” she said. “It was almost a given to me that I would become a lifeguard and work at the Y.”

She got recertified this past August before leaving for Rochester Institute of Technology, where she’s a freshman biochemistry major. She volunteers in surgical services at St. Luke’s when she’s home and plans to attend medical school.

Ruth was 16 and a high school senior when Tom lost consciousness. She said the experience confirmed her path.

“Being able to be part of such a story of success and recovery has definitely spurred me forward,” she said.

Like Ruth, Kai also grew up in the water. When his younger sister became a lifeguard, she dragged him along.

“She said, ‘we’re taking the test,’ and I said, ‘okay.’ They wore me down,” he joked, prompting Becky to laugh, “We really did.”

He works at the Y full-time while taking classes at Bucks County Community College.

“I love it here,” he said after the presentation.

“I do too,” Jodie chimed in.

“Aww, I love that they love it here,” Becky added.

While Jodie also grew up swimming, her path to lifeguarding was different.

“I did hair for 20 years, and then after COVID, I just needed a break,” she said. “I was in a salon, then, by myself, but I like working with other people.”

Building on her swimming skills, she became a swim instructor with a shallow-water lifeguard certification. Inevitably, she “crossed over from shallow to deep water” and got certified.

Jodie and Kai started working at the Y around the same time – about two and a half years ago.

“We have a really good team, and I think it’s important to have good communications and get along with each other,” she said.

A Red Cross Connection

Tom’s ties to the Red Cross go back decades – long before he met Jodie, Ruth and Kai.

“I was a beneficiary of the American Red Cross learn to swim program, and it was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life,” he shared. “I started off as a beginner swimmer, and I went all the way through advanced swimming and junior lifesaving.”

He even worked as water safety aid for the Red Cross and taught swimming lessons. This lifelong passion for swimming is what brought him to the Quakertown Y earlier this year.

“Before COVID, I was doing 12,000 meters every week in the pool,” he said. “I want to work my way back up to some level.”

Tom isn’t back in the water yet, but he says he’ll be swimming “any day now.”

Until then, he’ll stay dry and greet his new friends from the pool deck.

Nominate a Lifesaving Hero

If you or someone you know has used skills and knowledge learned in a Red Cross Training Services course to help save or sustain a life, visit LifesavingAwards.org to nominate them.

---------------

- Written by Alana Mauger