Surfer Rescued by Friends and Strangers After Mid-Session Heart Attack

We recently reported that a new study found surfers to be "largely overlooked guardians of the beach."

Particularly, it found that acts of heroism are "surprisingly common" among surfers, and most conduct "an average of three rescues across their surfing career."

The SoCal surf community proved that to be true recently during a group effort to save a man who suffered a heart attack while surfing Huntington Beach.

Related: Clip: Foil Surfers Cruise Through a Pod of Playful Killer Whales

The story above was written by Surfers' Hall of Fame inductee Laylan Connelly for the O.C. Register.

In mid-January, friends Jeffrey Weber, Shayla Bauer, and Chris Wessels, paddled out in Huntington Beach.

The session quickly took a turn for the worst, "when 26-year-old Wessels’ tone turned."

“I feel like I’m going to faint,” he said, and slumped onto his surfboard.

His heart had stopped.

Weber and Bauer managed to paddle him in and get him onto the beach while begging passersby to call 911.

Weber, who'd taken a CPR class in high school, immediately tried to revive his friend.

Connelly wrote:

"Weber put his hands onto Wessels’ chest and pressed down. A scene from the popular television show “The Office” played in his head – in the episode, during a CPR class, actor Steve Carell pressed down on a dummy to the song 'Stayin’ Alive' as a way to remember how to time the compressions.

“Ah, ah, ah, ah, stayin’ alive, stayin’ alive,” the beat racing through Weber’s mind with each chest compression.

Along with the help of strangers, "They took turns pumping onto Wessels’ chest until first responders showed up."

Wessels went without his own heartbeat for 45 minutes.

While doctors still haven't found an explanation for the heart attack, Wessels is alive, and facing a long road to recovery.

He's been accepted to a hospital rehab center where he'll receive therapy five days a week.

Friends set up a GoFundMe account that's already raised $38,000 of its $100,000 goal.

You can click here for the full story.

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