A Hero Among Us

I just read the most amazing article about one of our members in Westby, WI! Member Howard Sherpe saved the life of a Norwegian performer at a recent lodge meeting!

On September 30th there was a group of Norwegian musicians and dancers touring through the Coulee region of Wisconsin. As part of their tour, they performed for the Sons of Norway Solvang 5-457 lodge in Westby. This would prove to be fortuitous for performer Olav Halvorsen because on that night, during the performance, Mr. Halvorsen suffered a severe heart attack.

Howard Sherpe and an unidentified man, who was with the tour group, combined forces and immediately began performing CPR on Halvorsen’s. According to Sherpe, who was a medic in the military years ago, Halvorsen had no pulse and his eyes had rolled back in his head. Sherpe and his assistant worked hard to keep Halvorsen alive until emergency medical assistance arrived. "He was gone at least twice, but we weren’t about to give up. We knew we had to keep the blood flowing until help arrived or he didn’t stand a chance" said Sherpe.

In the end, Mr. Halvorsen survived and was sitting up and talking by the next day.

We should all be proud of Mr. Sherpe, for he truly is a hero among us!