Baytown woman urges others to learn CPR after saving a man's life on the pickleball court

BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) -- In her retirement, Robyne Gold found new ways to spend her time.

"I ended up and have become addicted to it. I play three or four times a week," Gold said.

Gold is a Pickleball fanatic, and she's gotten to know many people that way. After a win on the court, she sat with a friend to chat when her fun pastime took a serious turn.

"Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the gentleman fall off the stage and landed on his face," Gold said.

Gold was trained as a first responder during her career at the Exxon Mobil refinery. She's done everything from bumps and bruises to using life-saving measures, but this is the first time she needed those skills outside the refinery.

Back on the pickleball court, her years of first responder experience kicked in. She rolled her friend over, but he wasn't breathing and had no pulse.

She instructed someone to call 911, someone to get the defibrillator, and she started CPR. She did compressions for about seven minutes, shocked him with the defibrillator once, and then, they started to see signs of life.

"I rolled him back over, and when I went to do the next compression, he hollered. It hurt him, and he kind of came to, and I was like, 'yes!'" Gold said.

Baytown paramedics arrived, loaded the man up, and rushed him to the hospital. Gold was able to see him later that night.

"I met his wife, his daughter, and also his brother, and of course, there were lots of tears and hugging and thanking. I got a big hug from him, and he looked so good! He didn't look like he should be in a hospital bed. Seriously, he looked so good!" Gold said.

We asked Gold if saving that man's life made her a hero, but she said not in her eyes.

To her, this is an opportunity to inspire others. She says most people who perform CPR will do so on a friend or loved one. She encourages everyone to brush up on the Red Cross CPR standards, and to take a few moments to find the defibrillator in areas where you spend a lot of time. You never know when it will be your turn to save a life.

"I was fortunate that I was in the right place at the right time and had the skills to help him," Gold said.

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