TEMPE, AZ — A Jiu-Jitsu instructor at Soul Fighters Headquarters in Tempe is now on the mend after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest during a class on December 21.
Last Thursday, John Lightfoot suddenly passed out on the mat during a group grappling session. Security footage shows him stagger for a moment before falling to the ground.
“When I looked at Johns's face, I knew something was wrong,” said gym owner and fellow instructor Augusto Mendes. “I ran over and immediately lifted his legs but I could tell this was different than just passing out.”
Lightfoot had gone into cardiac arrest. They quickly called 911 and within seconds, Jiu-Jitsu student Joseph Mueller, a registered nurse and anesthesiologist, rushed to his side.
“I tried to feel for what’s a radial pulse in his arm, I didn’t feel that so I moved right to his neck and I did not feel a carotid pulse,” said Mueller, who is also the co-owner of Lifeguard Anesthesia.
Mueller, Mendes, and others with training began CPR. That’s when Mueller ran to his car where he keeps equipment used for mobile dental anesthesia.
“I have an Ambu self-inflating bag and then I had my AED readily available, so I was able to grab these very, very quickly,” explained Mueller.
He raced back inside and put both to work, restarting Lightfoot’s heart. The entire class cared for him until help arrived.
“You definitely felt love and the care, and compassion in that room, people were willing and able to jump in really quickly,” said Mueller of everyone who stepped up that day.
Feeling better every day, Lightfoot recently posted a message to social media from his hospital bed expressing gratitude to the entire Soul Fighters family whose collective action gave him the best Christmas gift of all: a fighting chance.