Dog leads people to man suffering heart attack

PEABODY, Mass. -- A group of people helped save a man's life on Thanksgiving.

He was playing football when he suffered a heart attack.

That's when all the right people, and even a dog, came together to save his life.

It started as a casual Thanksgiving Day stroll for future sisters-in-law Kristen Hillner and Nancy Maher.

When one of their dogs got loose, they chased it over to a nearby park where some family members were playing football.

That's when Nancy's fiancé, Rick Kezima, collapsed and the game took a terrifying turn.

"I go over to assist and help him get back up on his feet, and when I walk over I notice he has a glaze over his eyes and he's non responsive," said Steven Gallant, Kristen's fiancé.

"We got up to the top of the hill and my fiancé Steven yelled out call 911," said Kristen Hillner, who rescued the heart attack victim.

Rick was having a heart attack. Lucky for him, all the right people were in the right place at the right time.

Kristen, a defibrillator salesperson, had one of the life-saving devices in her car. She sent one of her nephews to get it, while her fiancé Steven, a state trooper, began CPR.

"Colin brought the aid back and I just did what I do every day, I took the pads out and applied them and it analyzed and it required a shock," said Kristen.

If family and friends hadn't been there to help, doctors said Rick wouldn't be here today.

Paramedics took him to Mass. General Hospital, where he had five-way bypass surgery.

Rick is doing just fine and should be home by the end of the week.

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