Shaun Keetch doesn’t remember much about the moment his heart stopped beating while he was playing hockey earlier this winter.
One second, he was trying to catch his breath after a shift in a men’s league hockey game. The next, he collapsed.
When he woke up, he was surrounded by teammates and opponents shouting his name, being told paramedics were on their way, and an automated external defibrillator (AED) beside him — a device that saved his life.
“If that defibrillator wasn’t there, I would not be here today,” Keetch, 42, told OrilliaMatters. “That’s 100 per cent for sure.”
It was Jan. 30 at Rotary Place in Orillia. Keetch’s team was shorthanded that night, with just two substitutes. Feeling winded, he took his gloves and helmet off on the bench, signalling he needed a break.
“I was kind of restless on the bench. I took my gloves and my helmet off just to let the guys know ... I need a break here for a minute,” he said. “I was a little uncomfortable, but I just figured I was overdoing it a bit.”
Despite feeling off, Keetch went back onto the ice. After a brief shift, he quickly returned to the bench, where his condition became noticeably worse. Players from both teams checked on him. He was advised to skip the rest of the game and go straight to the hospital.
“I told them I didn’t plan on going back out there,” Keetch recalled. But as he stretched his arms against the glass to relieve the pain, he suddenly felt numbness spread through his limbs. His legs gave out. Then — nothing.
Fortunately, his teammate, Dave Torrie, a volunteer firefighter, was there that night. He and others quickly jumped into action, performing CPR and retrieving the arena’s defibrillator.
“The defibrillator got there in record time," Keetch said. "They quickly hooked it up, and as soon as they pressed play, the machine basically said, ‘10 seconds till shock, don’t touch the patient.’ And everybody kind of just went, ‘Whoa.’”
The AED delivered a life-saving shock. Torrie, a Patrick Fogarty Secondary School teacher, continued chest compressions. Moments later, Keetch gasped back to life.
“It wasn’t long after that I was yelling at them to get off me,” he recalled. “I looked down, saw the defibrillator hooked up, and thought, ‘What have you guys done?’”
Paramedics arrived and rushed him to Royal Victoria Regional Health Centre (RVH) in Barrie, where doctors confirmed he had suffered a heart attack. He underwent an emergency procedure to insert three stents to restore blood flow.
Keetch spent several days in intensive care, undergoing further tests. An MRI revealed scarring on his heart, likely from an undiagnosed issue that had been building for years.
Doctors implanted an extravenous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (EVICD), a device that will monitor his heart and deliver a shock if needed in the future.
“It was uncomfortable at first, just trying to get used to it,” Keetch said. “But I’ve been feeling a lot better since.”
Just weeks after the incident, he returned to the rink — not to play, but to thank his teammates and the opposing team members who helped save his life. Coincidentally, his team was playing the same squad from the night of his heart attack.
“It was pretty crazy to be back there," he said. "But it was great to see everybody again."
Keetch’s survival underscores the importance of having defibrillators in public places, especially sports facilities.
“Seconds are valuable," he said. "There should be one on every floor, every 100 feet if possible. I know they’re expensive, but money shouldn’t be an obstacle when we’re talking about saving lives."
His employer, Napoleon Home Comfort, has already made AEDs standard at all its facilities. Keetch hopes to see more organizations follow suit.
As for returning to hockey, Keetch isn't sure yet. His doctors will re-evaluate his condition in April with a stress test to determine what activities are safe.
“I’d love to play again, but I haven’t ventured down that question yet,” he said.
For now, Keetch, a husband to his wife who he's been with for 30 years, and father of two, is focusing on recovery — and gratitude.
“I was in the right place, at the right time, with the right people,” Keetch said. “That saved my life.”