Oleh Ilynckyj was walking through Ambleside Park to go for a swim the day of the Coho Festival, but he had no idea he was about to save someone's life.
On Sept. 7, the North Vancouver resident was heading into the water to take advantage of the last remnants of summer weather when he stopped to have a listen to Adam Woodall Band's performance at the Coho beach bar.
That's when he looked over to see Susan Olivier making the universal symbol of someone choking - clasping her hands around her throat - and immediately asked if he could help.
When she nodded in agreement, he utilized training he had received years prior and performed the Heimlich manoeuvre on her. By the third try, the piece of corn lodged deep in her throat cutting off the air completely came out.
"I never did get to go swimming," Ilynckyj joked.
Everything happened so quickly that Olivier didn't get her rescuer's name or see his face before she was rushed off to first aid by a medic.
In an effort to thank the person who saved her, Olivier wrote to the North Shore News to thank her mysterious helper. When Ilynckyj responded to the letter, Olivier asked to meet so she could thank him in person.
The two reunited for the first time since the incident Thursday night back in Ambleside Park, close to where they met before.
"Wow, you look great," Ilynckyj immediately said to her.
"Better than the last time you saw me, I'm sure," Olivier added.
Ilynckyj, a lawyer specializing in personal injury and health law, said he was able to help her because she was calm and allowed him to.
"It all happened pretty quickly," he added. "I asked somebody to get the medic and then we just worked together right away."
But Olivier, a teacher's assistant from Abbotsford, said she was only able to relax and stay calm because he was there to help.
While Ilynckyj was reluctant to accept too much praise for his act, one of his three sons was happy to see his dad's good deed recognized.
"I'm pretty sure if Vancouver had 500 people like my father walking around, we would be voted 'world's friendliest city' year after year," said Mica Prazak, Ilynckyj's son living and working as a teacher in Chile, in an email to the North Shore News. "He is my ongoing example of a humble talent."
Prazak said he had no idea his father knew first aid, and was proud of how his lack of hesitation to help someone in need "made such a powerful difference."
Sarah Mogensen, of St. John's Ambulance North Shore and Sea to Sky branch, said this situation is precisely why it's important to "have the skills needed to save someone's life."
"You just never know when these skills will be required - whether it is a workplace emergency, coming across a motor vehicle accident, or someone choking," she said.
Mogensen said the best way to learn first aid and CPR skills is to take a recognized course from a qualified instructor.
"In an emergency where there are injuries, the ability to act calmly, assess the situation and give appropriate first aid will depend on your first aid skills," she said. "Knowing what to do could save a life."
St. John Ambulance offers a variety of first aid courses, and some take as little as four hours.
