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The Nordhorland Hundeklubb had carried the memory of a previous tragedy for years. At an earlier exhibition event held at Radehal, someone had collapsed and the club had done everything they could, CPR was started, people responded fast but there was no defibrillator on site. That person did not survive. The club never forgot. When the opportunity came to invest in a defibrillator and proper enclosure, the decision was not a difficult one. Several members had also completed first aid training through Røde Kors Førstehjelp AS, giving them not just equipment but the confidence to use it. As Karl Ole put it after recovering: he was in the right place, with the right people, and the right equipment. That combination did not happen by chance.
During a dog sport competition in Nordhordland, Norway, Karl Ole Midtbø collapsed in cardiac arrest without warning. Three fellow competitors; Anne-Lise, Simen and Monica, acted immediately, performing CPR and retrieving the club's newly installed Rotaid Solid Plus AED cabinet. One shock from the defibrillator, and Karl Ole's heart started again.
It was a cold, grey morning at the Nordhorland Hundeklubb grounds, and the EKTI team relay was well underway. Three dogs and three handlers competed together in a single lap, a test of coordination as much as speed. Karl Ole Midtbø was running with his team when he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him. He dropped to one knee, thinking he would steady himself. That was the last thing he remembered.
Anne-Lise had just finished her own run and was heading back through the dog area when she heard someone calling for help. Her first thought, she later said, was that this looked like cardiac arrest. She had been in a situation like this before, and the recognition came quickly. She and the others reached Karl Ole within moments. They checked for breathing by placing a cheek close to his mouth and nose. There was nothing. Anne-Lise, Simen and Monica began CPR without hesitation, working in compressions and keeping a steady rhythm while others around them were sent to find help. Soon, someone arrived with the defibrillator. The device delivered a single shock. They continued compressions for a short time longer and then Karl Ole opened his eyes.
The AED had been installed in a Rotaid Solid Plus indoor cabinet at the club, a decision the Nordhorland Hundeklubb had made not long before the event. The cabinet kept the defibrillator visible, accessible and ready to use without delay. When someone ran for it, there was no searching, no locked door, no uncertainty. The device was there, and it worked.
