A Whitefish mother of two is being hailed as a hero in Lake County, where she has received two awards in recent days for her role in saving a man’s life in August.

Meg Olson, a physical education teacher at Whitefish High School, received the Citizens Lifesaving Award from the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in Polson on Wednesday for helping save Bob Christianson, a 68-year-old retired railroader who was stricken with a heart attack while boating on Lake Mary Ronan.

On Nov. 1, Olson was honored by the U.S. Marine Corps during its annual ball in Polson.

Olson was camping with her family at Lake Mary Ronan and was walking off the dock, returning to their campsite after fishing, when a boat raced up to the shore. Christianson was on board with two of his daughters. They frantically called for help.

“Meg did not hesitate and ran to assist,” said Drew Kelly, Olson’s companion who also was camping there with his two children. “She was the first person to arrive at the boat and immediately took over the situation. We later learned that if it were not for Meg’s quick assessments and actions, the man would have died.”

Olson said they pulled Christianson onto the dock and checked for a pulse. She quickly started CPR, doing both breath and chest-compression resuscitation.

Jennifer Holt, a physical therapist from Missoula, pitched in to help, taking over the compression CPR until the ALERT helicopter crew arrived. Holt also was honored by the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.

Olson performed CPR for about 30 minutes and learned later the ALERT flight crew spent another 15 minutes or so reviving Christianson.

“He was up and walking within 24 hours with no brain damage,” Olson said.

A member of the ALERT crew told Olson that Christianson’s recovery was nothing short of a miracle.

“I’ve taught CPR for many years,” Olson said. “This was an opportunity to practice what you preach.”  

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by email at [email protected].