A grateful hiker is singing the praises of a Collingwood firefighter who helped rescue her from a local trail after she was blindsided by an attack of heat stroke.
Geraldine Poulouski, an experienced hiker from Kitchener, was trekking a path on top of Osler Bluff with three fellow hikers earlier this month when she fell ill.
“One moment I was doing just fine and the next I was in serious trouble lying face down on the trail,” said Poulouski. “It happened very fast. I thought I was just tired. … I do not remember much after that, just bits and pieces.”
The group had cell phones with them and called an ambulance, but there was still the matter of getting Poulouski the rest of the way down the mountain to where an ambulance was waiting.
Jeff Crompton, a firefighter who was biking the trail with his dog on his day off, came across the party and they told him about Poulouski's medical emergency.
“They asked if I could help,” said Crompton. “When I got to her she was conscious, but not very responsive.”
He cooled her neck and shoulders with some water and called a friend who worked at Osler Bluff and had access to the club’s utility terrain vehicle (UTV). He said it was about 37 degrees Celsius that day, and that Poulouski was about 1.5 to two kilometres away from the trail head where an ambulance could get her.
In the meantime, Crompton’s dog, Ash, performed canine first aid.
“Of all of it, I remember the dog the most … I remember the dog licking my face,” said Poulouski. “What I remember of Jeff was his voice telling me everything was going to be okay and he was going to help me.”
Crompton and others helped Poulouski into the UTV and down the mountain to the ambulance.
She was treated at the hospital and released later that evening.
After returning home, Poulouski and her husband decided they wanted to express their gratitude to Crompton, so they connected with Deputy Chief Stephen Emo at Collingwood Fire Department to arrange a lunch for Crompton and the rest of the crew.
Both Poulouski and her husband visited the station and thanked Crompton in person.
“It was so nice to meet the person who gave up his day off to help a silly old woman who got herself into some trouble,” said Poulouski, who is 67 years old and has hiked the Grand Canyon. "Without his help, I would have been in a serious situation."
She also brought a bone for Ash.
