(Dec 6, 2008)

Everyone knows Santa can perform miracles.

But on Thursday afternoon, he had a little help from a defibrillator.

Santa -- a.k.a. Ken Mandeno -- helped save a woman's life after she had a heart attack in the lobby of Hamilton Place after a Geritol Follies performance.

Mandeno, who performs the Jingle Bell Rap in the Follies' Christmas Variety Show, was still in his Santa costume when he used the automatic electronic defibrillator to restart the woman's heart.

The retired steel worker was mingling with the audience after the show when the woman collapsed. Mandeno stepped in because he had just taken a first-aid course last month at the Glanford Curling Club, where he learned how to use the device.

"A lot went through my head before I pushed that button," said the retired Steel worker. "It wasn't really scary, but it was like running into unknown territory."

Mandeno doesn't know the identity of the woman he helped save. "The last I heard, she's doing well," he said.

Beth Burley, who works with the Geritol Follies, was at the merchandise table in the lobby when she saw the woman fall to the ground. Burley was monitoring the woman's heartbeat when Mandeno brought the defibrillator over.

"Imagine seeing Santa Claus come sweeping in to save the day, she said. "It was very Miracle on 34th Street."

Missy Dunn, a St. John's Ambulance volunteer, said Mandeno's quick action helped save the woman's life. Dunn was administering CPR while Mandeno was putting the defibrillator pads onto the woman's body.

Dunn, Burley and Mandeno continued to monitor the woman until paramedics showed up.

The defibrillator was installed in Hamilton Place as part of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Ontario's Restart a Heart, Restart a Life program, which installed 1,000 defibrillators across the province.

Mandeno says he knew the machine was being used for the first time because parts of the defibrillator were still encased in plastic.

"I don't feel I'm entitled to any glory," he said. "Hopefully the action I took saved her."

ereilly@thespec.com

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