By David Eck
Enquirer contributor

COLERAIN TWP. - As Hamilton County Sheriff's Cpl. James Knapp was whisked away in an ambulance after suffering a heart attack while on patrol Aug. 27, T.J. McAninch was deeply worried about his recovery.

"I didn't have a lot of hope at all," she said.

Knapp, 49, was turning blue. He had no pulse for more than five minutes. Paramedics shocked his heart seven times before it started beating again, she said.

That's why McAninch was thrilled to see Knapp standing and talking on Thursday.

McAninch, a nurse for 33 years, was among five passersby who stopped to help Knapp immediately after he was stricken. Hamilton County Sheriff Simon Leis and Sycamore Township officials recognized them at a ceremony Thursday.

The five passersby, three of whom are nurses, called for an ambulance but performed CPR on Knapp until paramedics arrived.

"Rather than having a wake, because of you people we are having a celebration," Leis said. "If it weren't for the (actions) that you took then, he would not be in this room today."

McAninch, Barb Gannon, Richard Pratt, Mike Huston and Sharon Brenner were awarded plaques and certificates. They also received thanks and hugs from Knapp.

"From what the surgeons said, if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here," Knapp said. "I guess the rest of my life whatever I do, good or bad, is going to be because of you."

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