{"id":6237,"date":"2026-08-03T18:37:36","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:37:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6237"},"modified":"2026-08-03T18:37:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T18:37:36","slug":"contra-costa-paramedic-fairfield-nurse-hailed-as-heroes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6237","title":{"rendered":"Contra Costa paramedic, Fairfield nurse hailed as heroes"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>Riley Cannon came to the CrossFit Games to cheer on the world\u2019s top athletes.<\/p>\n<p>Theresa Watkins came to represent her fire department at an informational booth.<\/p>\n<p>Neither woman expected to spend that Saturday morning fighting to save the life of a stranger.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6235\">When is the last day for the Barnes and Noble in Redwood City?<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Just before competition began outside San Jose\u2019s SAP Center on July 25, the two friends \u2014 one an intensive care nurse, the other a veteran firefighter\/engineer-paramedic \u2014 found themselves kneeling beside a 76-year-old man whose heart had suddenly stopped beating.<\/p>\n<p>Within minutes, they performed CPR, delivered a lifesaving shock with an automated external defibrillator and helped restore his pulse before emergency crews arrived.<\/p>\n<p>Today, Jim Martin is expected to make a full recovery with no neurological deficits, and Cannon and Watkins are being praised for the calm, decisive actions that made the difference between life and death.<\/p>\n<p><strong>RELATED: 16-year-old lifeguard describes how he rescued child from pounding surf in Santa Cruz<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI did not like what I was seeing,\u201d Cannon recalled. \u201cThe way he was lying on his back, I could see that he was belly breathing, gasping. Somebody said, \u2018Oh, he\u2019s breathing. He\u2019s fine,\u2019 but I knew better.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Cannon, an ICU registered nurse at NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, had traveled to the games with friends. A longtime CrossFit coach and athlete, she stopped to chat with Watkins, a firefighter\/engineer and paramedic with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, who was staffing a department booth in the vendor village.<\/p>\n<p>As Cannon walked away, she heard a commotion just a few booths over.<\/p>\n<p>She made her way through the crowd and tried to check the man\u2019s pulse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really could only reach his wrist initially, so I checked his pulse there and couldn\u2019t find one,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cEventually I was able to get people out of the way, checked his neck pulse, and he didn\u2019t have one.\u201d<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Watkins had also noticed people rushing toward the scene.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy coworker and I were sitting there, and she saw people moving quickly in one direction and thought there might be a medical emergency,\u201d Watkins said. \u201cI got up to look and saw Riley feeling for a pulse. Riley said, \u2018I don\u2019t think he has a pulse. We need to start CPR.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The two immediately began working together.<\/p>\n<p>About 1 minute and 45 seconds into CPR, Martin regained a pulse and briefly became conscious before slipping back into cardiac arrest, Watkins said. They resumed compressions until someone arrived with an AED. After following the device\u2019s prompts and delivering one shock, they continued CPR while Cannon used a rescue breathing mask another bystander had brought to the scene.<\/p>\n<p>Moments later, Martin began breathing on his own. By the time first responders arrived, he was awake and alert.<\/p>\n<p>Watkins later wrote to NorthBay praising Cannon\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRiley\u2019s calm demeanor, quick assessment, and immediate intervention made a life-saving difference,\u201d Watkins wrote. \u201cHer professionalism, clinical skills, and willingness to act without hesitation truly reflect the values of healthcare professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Cannon, the rescue was unlike anything she had experienced despite years as an ICU nurse.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was relieved. I know Theresa, and I knew who I was working with at that point,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019m used to being in a hospital where I\u2019m working with people I know. I\u2019ve never had to do it out in the field like this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6233\">Modest Mouse sidelines guitarist who allegedly sent explicit DM to teen<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Ironically, Cannon had spent the week before reviewing CPR training materials for an upcoming certification renewal.<\/p>\n<p>But amid the chaos, one thing kept her focused.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI heard very clearly his wife yelling and crying,\u201d Cannon said. \u201cAt that point I just said, \u2018We need to get him back. I don\u2019t care how scared I am. I just have to keep doing what I\u2019m doing so that he goes home with her.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>For Karen Martin, Jim\u2019s wife, the timing still feels impossible to comprehend.<\/p>\n<p>The couple, longtime members of the CrossFit community from San Diego, had stopped at the games while driving north to Oregon, where they plan to move closer to family.<\/p>\n<p>Just minutes earlier, Jim had been parking the car alone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf it had happened 10 minutes earlier, he had been by himself,\u201d Karen Martin said. \u201cWe would have had a very different outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Instead, an ICU nurse and an experienced firefighter-paramedic happened to be only steps away.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor these two people to be right there, they were right on him,\u201d she said. \u201cThose two kept him alive until the AED and the first responders could arrive. What on earth gave us this blessing? We are so grateful.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Doctors later determined Jim Martin would need bypass surgery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have a long road ahead of us,\u201d Karen Martin said. But that\u2019s the key \u2014 he\u2019s alive, and there is a road ahead, she said.<\/p>\n<p>Watkins said Contra Costa County Fire Protection District plans to nominate both women for a Field Service Hero Award. She hopes the experience also inspires more people to learn CPR.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe biggest thing is community CPR,\u201d she said. \u201cYou never know when something like this might happen, and you may be the only person there to help.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Cannon echoed that message, urging people not to mistake agonal gasping for normal breathing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCheck for the pulse,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople saw him agonal breathing, and if you don\u2019t know what that is, you can mistake it and say, \u2018He\u2019s breathing. He\u2019s going to be OK.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Agonal breathing is an abnormal, reflexive gasping pattern \u2014 characterized by labored breaths, strange vocalizations, and long pauses \u2014 that occurs when the brain is deprived of oxygen, typically signaling a life-threatening emergency like cardiac arrest.<\/p>\n<p>Back at NorthBay Health, Cannon said the recognition has been humbling.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEveryone\u2019s been very proud of me,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<p>Still, she\u2019s hoping lightning doesn\u2019t strike twice.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m glad I know how,\u201d she said with a laugh. \u201cBut I would like not to have to do that ever again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6231\">Firefighters injured after massive fire hits Foster City apartment complex<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pair teamed up to rescue man who collapsed at CrossFit Games outside San Jose\u2019s SAP Center.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6236,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6237","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - 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