SOURCE: BellevilleNewsDemocrat.com
by Lisa P. White

Jim Corsi was cooling down after his regular evening run at the East Belleville YMCA when he collapsed.

Jim Cusic, aquatics director at the center, immediately sprang into action and administered CPR to an unconscious Corsi whose heart had stopped beating.
Cusic called for the automatic external defibrillator and while he used it, a nurse and paramedic who were working out nearby took over the chest compressions and blowing air into the man's lungs.

It all happened in less than two minutes, recalled Cusic.

"The ironic part is that I've been a Red Cross volunteer and instructor-trainer for 20 years and I've never had to do CPR and this was my first time using the (defibrillator)," Cusic said.

By the time the ambulance arrived to take him to St. Elizabeth's Hospital, Corsi, 67, was sitting up and breathing, Cusic said.

Corsi is an early-riser and he leads an active life, said his wife, Midge. He teaches history and coaches soccer at Gibault High School in Waterloo.

Midge Corsi said doctors told her that her husband didn't have a heart attack and suffered no heart damage, but they discovered significant blockage in his arteries. He had heart bypass surgery last Tuesday, four days after he collapsed.

"There were all kinds of angels around," Midge Corsi said. "It was everyone's actions together, but it was the defibrillator that brought him back."

In appreciation of the quick-wits, sure hands and training of the YMCA staff who surely saved his life, Jim Corsi donated $1,000 to the YMCA of Southwest Illinois.

Midge Corsi said the surgery was a success, but her husband remains hospitalized so his doctors can run a few more tests.

Kim Webb, executive director at the East Belleville YMCA, said this was the first time her staff have had to use the defibrillator on a member since she started working there in November 2004. All workers receive first aid and CPR training, she said, and they are encouraged to learn how to use the defibrillator as well.