'My heart's full': Florida visitor returns to thank Ridge crew who saved him from cardiac arrest

At 9:14 a.m. Jan. 27, Robert (Bob) Whitmore went into cardiac arrest while exercising on a treadmill at The Ridge Athletic Club.

Within minutes, staff and other members of The Ridge came to the rescue, giving Whitmore CPR and using an Automated External Defibrillator (AED) machine to help restart his heart.

Whitmore, who was visiting from Jupiter, Florida, at the time, returned to The Ridge on Tuesday for an awards ceremony. In front of a sea of navy firefighter uniforms in The Ridge’s Bridger Studio, he shook Fire Chief Josh Waldo’s hand and thanked everyone for saving his life.

“I’m humbled to be here,” Whitmore said.

Whitmore said later he has grown close to members of the Bozeman community. He spent time before and after the event cheerfully catching up with the firefighters and Ridge members who helped him in January.

Waldo said the Bozeman Fire Department reviewed footage of Whitmore’s cardiac arrest and evaluated its response. He noted that Whitmore was “minutes away from death” but survived only because of the quick thinking of the people who performed life-saving measures before the paramedics arrived.

“Because of the actions of these people in front of you today, Bob is alive, Bob is happy, Bob is healthy,” Waldo said.

Waldo presented the Bozeman Fire Lifesaving Award to Liz Johnson, who used an AED on Whitmore; Andrew Macelroy, who took Whitmore’s vitals and spoke with EMS; and Leah Vogel, who performed compression and CPR breaths.

The Bozeman Fire Excellence Awards went to Jen Schmidt, who previously taught Ridge workers how to do CPR; Paige Scherer for calling 911; and owner/general manager Steve Roderick for maintaining a high standard of excellence at The Ridge.

Whitmore called it “divine intervention” that the right people were there to save him. He came to Bozeman in January to visit a friend who owns a home here. He said he was “super grateful” to the people who saved his life.

“My heart’s full,” he said.

“I’m honored, humbled, and grateful,” said Vogel, The Ridge’s director of operations.

Roderick, said the awards ceremony was a celebration of life. He remarked about how great it was that a group of people responded without hesitation to Whitmore’s emergency and is thankful that Bozeman is a community with an amazing response team.

“When one wins, we all win, and the ultimate win of life is to get another day,” he said.

Whitmore said he has still had the opportunity to be a typical Bozeman tourist. He’s enjoyed horseback riding, hiking, and getting dinner and coffee with friends.