Posted: Aug 09, 2016 9:46 AM EDT
Updated: Aug 17, 2016 10:26 PM EDT
By Glenn Stevens, Reporter

NILES, Ohio –

A recent medical emergency at a local mall demonstrates how some simple training can save a persons life.

A volunteer worker and a security guard came to the rescue of a Warren man who suffered a heart attack at the Eastwood Mall.

John Gillespie was back at the mall to help present special awards to Shirley Lisk and Raymond Ellis, who helped him survive his heart attack on April 21.

“They really deserve it, and our family thanks them from the bottom of our hearts,” Gillespie said.

Lisk is the director of St. Joe’s community health center at the mall; Ellis is a mall security guard. While Ellis continued traditional chest compression CPR, Lisk ran into the health center to get an Automated External Deflibrillator or AED.

“We shocked him once, and then after that his pulse returned,” Lisk said.

Karen Conklin of the American Red Cross says knowing basic CPR can be the first step in saving a life.

“It’s easy to learn. It’s easy to do,” Conklin said.

A basic CPR class takes less than three hours, and AED units are now available for use in many public places.

“It’s so user friendly, and people shouldn’t be afraid to use it because it will talk you through it,” Lisk said.

Gillespie knows that he was very lucky.

“Absolutely if I’d been anywhere else I wouldn’t be here talking,” he said.