Merna Mickelson.
Image Credit: British Columbia Golf
August 29, 2013 - 2:27 PM
KAMLOOPS – A woman was only one hole into the golf tournament at the 2013 Senior Games in Kamloops last week when she suffered a heart attack she was never to recover from.
The incident occurred Thursday, Aug. 22, at Sun Rivers Golf Course and crews quickly came to the aid of 72-year-old Merna Mickelson of Victoria. Medical personnel did what they needed to and as of Friday morning Andy Philpot said the golfer was still alive despite earlier rumours they had not survived.
“It got reported as (a death), at the present time it's not. The person is still with us,” Philpot said Friday morning. “It shows the medical system that's set up did what it's supposed to.”
Later that day Mickelson died, leaving behind her two daughters and five grandchildren.
She began golfing in 1982 and later became the chair of the Southern Vancouver Island Zone 5 of the British Columbia Golf after first volunteering as the district secretary and vice chair. She worked on several different committees and volunteered at Cedar Hill Golf Club, which is where the celebration of her life will be held next Sunday.
While there were several other reports of health related issues during the games Mickelson is the only reported death and organizers believe she had an underlying health issue that contributed to the heart attack.
To contact a reporter for this story, email jstahn@infotelnews.ca, call (250)819-3723 or tweet @JennStahn.
News from © iNFOnews, 2013