By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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LOVES PARK — A Rockford woman was recognized on Wednesday for her life-saving actions to revive a man who suffered cardiac arrest while skating at Carlson Ice Arena.
Ashley Braswell was reunited with Daniel Brown, the 81-year-old man she saved, and presented a plaque and flowers from Northern Illinois CPR and First Aid, a local business that provides CPR and first aid training. The presentation was made at Carlson Ice Arena, where Brown was practicing a figure-skating routine on June 1, 2022, when he suddenly dropped to the ice.
“The doctors told me I had an 8% chance of survival, and without her I wouldn’t have made it,” Brown said. “The EMTs coming would have been too late.”
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Braswell was in the stands watching her daughter, now 15, when she saw Brown fall and his coach call out for help.
The mother of two made her way from the stands and onto the ice and began performing CPR while Rockford Park District employees brought her an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to administer an electric shock to restore Brown’s heart rhythm.
“That’s when he came back, when the AED shocked him,” Braswell said.
Braswell works as a dental assistant at Forest Hills Dental Group and takes the training as part of her role there. She said she was worried when she first took classes whether she would be able to remember her training, but it came back to her instantly when needed.
“You almost go into autopilot, (I) didn’t even think about it in the moment,” she said. “I was just on the ice doing it.”
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Brown has been figure skating for roughly 35 years, and was training for an upcoming competitive program when he suffered the cardiac arrest. After recovering, he was able to return to the ice again until he was sidelined by knee problems.
“Once I get them fixed, I’m going to try it again,” he said. “I’m thankful that Ashley was here and Ashley knew what to do. She came down out of the audience, ran out onto the ice, took care and took charge.”
The date of the event is unforgettable for Braswell because it was also the birthday of her youngest daughter, who turns 9 this year.
“Like Dan said, I brought a life in and saved a life all on the same day,” she said.
Northern Illinois CPR and First Aid is co-owned by the mother-and-son team of Lori Jasper and Zach Oltmanns. The group has successfully taught more than 3,500 students CPR.
“The training is very easy, and emergencies are never scheduled,” Jasper said. “You could be that hero.”
Contact | Northern Illinois CPR and First Aid
Online: ILCPR.com
Phone: 815-627-0393
This article is by Kevin Haas. Email him at khaas@rockrivercurrent.com or follow him on X at @KevinMHaas or Instagram @thekevinhaas and Threads @thekevinhaas