TUCSON, Arizona — It was late September when 72-year-old Charlie Corley arrived for his morning pickleball match at Udall Park.
A friend approached and asked for his paddle. Corley handed it over, then felt something wrong.
“I gave him my paddle, and said to myself, why are you dizzy?” Corley recalled.
Moments later, he collapsed on the court.
Players nearby heard screams and ran over. Margy Eller, a nurse who was also playing that day, rushed to his side and immediately recognized the signs of a cardiac event.
Also on the court was Dr. Ron Widman, a retired emergency medicine physician.
“I assessed him. Realized his heart wasn’t beating. He wasn’t breathing. I started compressions at that time,” Widman said.
Members of the pickleball community scrambled to retrieve an automated external defibrillator (AED). In a coordinated team effort, they applied the device.
“We hooked it up, shocked him a couple of times, and he woke up, which is extremely rare for that to happen,” Widman said. “About a 10 percent survival rate for bystander CPR.”
On Friday, Corley was back at the Udall Park courts — playing again with the same friends and partners who helped save his life. The group has affectionately become known as “Charlie’s Angels.”
“There are no words,” Corley said. “How many times can I hug ’em? How many times can I say thank you? That will never end.”
Carondelet Health was on hand Friday offering CPR demonstrations and a clear message to the community.
“Today is about knowing CPR,” Eller said. “You don’t have to be a nurse. You don’t have to be a doctor. You don’t have to be a paramedic. But take CPR courses. Know what to do.”
Corley is continuing to see a cardiologist as he is evaluated further. For now, he says he feels great.
“Nothing has changed. Just fantastic,” he said.
His advice to others is simple: “Don’t end your life on something like this. It’s a new beginning.”
