UPDATED WITH STORY: Deputies, medics, officers, trainer honored for quick action

FRANKLIN — Kevin Domingue says he usually officiates at 100-150 basketball games each year — not the sort of schedule that lacks for cardio.
At 55, he had no history of cardiac trouble other than a diagnosis of atrial fibrillation, an irregular rhythm in one of the smaller chambers of the heart. The condition increases the risk of stroke, but he was taking medication.
As he neared the end of a game he was calling Jan. 19 at West St. Mary High, Domingue had no warning symptoms. Others said later that they saw none.
And then, there on the court, he collapsed.
But by a happy accident, Domingue may have been in the best place outside a hospital to have a cardiac emergency. Two deputies trained in CPR were already in the gym, along with two out-of-town police officers and a Bayou Bend athletic trainer. More help was on the way.
And on Tuesday, the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office honored their lifesaving work with a ceremony at the Parish Courthouse.
“There’s no greater day,” said New Iberia Police Chief Todd D’Albor, two of whose officers joined the effort Jan. 19, “for the ambulance personnel, the fire personnel, the school personnel and law enforcement, than when you’re able to save a life.”
Two of the honorees were K9 Sgt. Ashleigh Wilson and her husband, Lt. Chad Wilson, both of the St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office. They were working security at the game.
“All of a sudden they had to render lifesaving aid to someone, which is the job of an officer,” said Chief Deputy John Kahl. “You might have to transition from second to second and minute to minute to provide what the community needs.”
Ashleigh Wilson is from Morgan City, Chad Wilson from Texas. They were married before they joined the Sheriff’s Office. He has seven years on the job, she six. And they’ve received training in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and tactical emergency casualty care.
“We just did what had to be done,” Ashleigh Wilson said.
Chad Wilson said he began using a sternal rub, in which the knuckles are rubbed along the patient’s breast bone to stimulate a response and gauge the level of consciousness. That worked for a while.
“He was breathing,” Wilson said. “I wouldn’t say he was talking, but he tried to talk.”
Eventually that technique stopped working, so the Wilsons began CPR.
Baldwin firefighters arrived, as did paramedic Sean Dennis and emergency medical technician Caleb Trahan of Acadian Ambulance.
A portable defibrillator made all the difference, Chad Wilson said.
In the meantime, help came from the stands. New Iberia Police Department Sgts. Daesha Hughes and Craig Lewis, and athletic trainer Wydrick Harding of Bayou Bend Health System happened to be at the game. They pitched in with the lifesaving efforts and crowd control.
Domingue was transported to Bayou Bend and then by air to Terrebonne General Health System in Houma. He regained consciousness four days later.
Now, 2-1/2 months later, he hopes to put on the striped shirt again.
“I think I’ll go back in the fall,” Domingue said after Tuesday’s ceremony. “That’s my hope.”
At the ceremony, Domingue thanked the first responders who saved his life.
“Because of you guys, a husband, a father, a grandfather and a son is still here with my family,” Domingue said.