'Truly a miracle': Pool lifeguards save man's life after heart attack

John Bumkens doesn’t remember much of what happened on June 24, but his body still bears the scars and bruises from that fateful day.

At his mother’s home in Albuquerque on Thursday, Bumkens, 69, lifted his shirt to reveal massive, deep purple bruises that ran up the side of his body. His chest was still sore and tender, hurting with every cough or sudden movement. Despite the discomfort, he had a big smile on his face and a sense of deep gratitude in his heart for being alive.

“It is truly a miracle,” he said as his eyes began to water. A self-described long-distance biker, hiker and swimmer, Bumkens has rarely stayed still in his life. From a young age, he recalled spending many summer days with his family at the Sunport Pool.

“I remember the smell of French fries and the sound of the diving boards,” he said. “I remember it fondly.”

Bumkens never lost that love for the Sunport Pool and has always made it a point to return to the pool as often as possible. June 24 was just another day at the pool, as far as he knew.

But that is where his recollection of that day ends.

Bumkens, who had been swimming, suffered a heart attack and was lying face down in the water. Sunport lifeguard James Means, 21, was on duty and approached by a woman who said Bumkens was not moving.

“I just thought, ‘This is really happening,’” Means recalled. He immediately blew his whistle to alert fellow lifeguards that an emergency was taking place.

Hearing the whistle from the front cash register, 19-year-old Noah Madrid ran to the pool. “I look over to the left and I see James pulling this dude out of the water and trying to get him onto the concrete,” he said.

Sunport Pool head lifeguard Beau Innes, 28, ran to the side of the pool to help Means pull Bumkens from the water. While that was taking place, Pool Supervisor Aaron Romero, 27, told Madrid to call 911. Another lifeguard, 19-year-old Itzak Flores, helped Means and Innes load Bumkens onto a life board.

In the midst of all of the commotion was 15-year-old lifeguard Mia Kesel, who had only been on the job for three days. “Aaron put me on crowd control,” she said.

Once Bumkens was pulled from the pool, the lifeguards immediately began administering CPR to Bumkens, who was not breathing and had no pulse. In addition, the lifeguards also administered three shocks from an automated external defibrillator after being told by a woman who knew Bumkens that he suffered from a heart condition.

The lifeguards performed 11 rounds of CPR before the ambulance arrived. While they were not able to restore Bumkens’ breathing at the pool, they did receive word from the paramedics did so once inside the ambulance.

“That was a huge relief,” Means said. Bumkens was taken to University of New Mexico Hospital for further treatment. When he finally regained consciousness at the hospital, he couldn’t recall what had happened, but his surroundings gave him a clue.

Bumkens had inherited a heart condition from his father’s side of the family and had suffered three heart attacks prior to the one at Sunport Pool.

“I have maybe seven stents,” he said as he pointed to his chest.

In addition to the heart attack, he had several broken ribs and a broken sternum as a result of the vigorous life-saving pressure applied to his chest required by CPR. He was in the hospital for roughly a week before being released.

The primary caretaker for his 95-year-old mother, Marcia, Bumkens spent the next few days recovering and talking to his neighbors, who helped him piece together what had happened. When he learned that a group of pool lifeguards had helped save his life, Bumkens said the news took him aback.

“I’m extremely grateful,” he said. “They deserve so much credit. I wouldn’t be here if not for them.”

In recognition for their lifesaving efforts, Flores, Innes, Kesel, Mardrid, Means and Romero were honored during a ceremony at the Albuquerque Fire Rescue Academy on Thursday. With certificates given to them by Mayor Tim Keller and AFR Chief Emily Jaramillo commemorating their actions, the group was all smiles .

The group said their decisive and calm demeanor during this emergency is all thanks to biweekly training sessions that they undergo, which cover a wide variety of medical emergency scenarios — like a heart attack.

Bumkens said his recovery is going well and that he plans to get back into the pool as soon a possible. But more than anything, he is looking forward to meeting the group of fearless lifeguards and staff who helped ensure he will be able to see his beloved Sunport Pool again.

“I imagine I’ll be emotional to go back and see the people who saved my life,” he said. “What they did for me, it’s beyond words.”