Hugs for Micky – “Hey, how you doing?” “Hey, how are you?”
Hugs for Matthew Glode. “Hey, it’s good to see you.” “You too.”
Hugs all around.
These big-muscled men were all touched in some way by Cody Glode, Truro’s youngest-ever firefighter, a talented mixed martial artist, and a loving son.
"You can still feel him here," said Marshall, owner of MARMAC Athletics. "This was more his gym than mine. When he walked in here, you could just see him taking over the room."
Josh Chisling, fire inspector with the Truro Fire Service, says Cody was a special guy.
“He touched our department like no other member – he came to our department and he worked hard, he earned the right to be there. He was an integral part of our department,” says Chisling.
Cody took his life on March 2, and his father Matt says it has been a tough 10 months.
“This has been a year of firsts,” says Matt. “It seems like it was yesterday and it seems like it was 400 years ago. It hasn’t been easy but we’re getting there.”
Matt says the Truro Fire Service have been very supportive of Cody’s family.
“I can’t say anything but positive about that place. They call us regularly just to see how we’re doing, if there is anything we need. They’re keeping his memory alive and moving it forward. They did his funeral and people tell me that heads of state don’t get better sendoffs.”
Hugs for Micky – “Hey, how you doing?” “Hey, how are you?”
Hugs for Matthew Glode. “Hey, it’s good to see you.” “You too.”
Hugs all around.
These big-muscled men were all touched in some way by Cody Glode, Truro’s youngest-ever firefighter, a talented mixed martial artist, and a loving son.
"You can still feel him here," said Marshall, owner of MARMAC Athletics. "This was more his gym than mine. When he walked in here, you could just see him taking over the room."
Josh Chisling, fire inspector with the Truro Fire Service, says Cody was a special guy.
“He touched our department like no other member – he came to our department and he worked hard, he earned the right to be there. He was an integral part of our department,” says Chisling.
Cody took his life on March 2, and his father Matt says it has been a tough 10 months.
“This has been a year of firsts,” says Matt. “It seems like it was yesterday and it seems like it was 400 years ago. It hasn’t been easy but we’re getting there.”
Matt says the Truro Fire Service have been very supportive of Cody’s family.
“I can’t say anything but positive about that place. They call us regularly just to see how we’re doing, if there is anything we need. They’re keeping his memory alive and moving it forward. They did his funeral and people tell me that heads of state don’t get better sendoffs.”
The firefighters were visiting Marshall’s gym to drop off an automatic external defibrillator (AED) in memory of Cody. AEDs allow untrained people to restore a normal heart rhythm.
The Mikey Network, based in Ontario, has provided over 2,000 AEDs for public spaces, mostly in Canada.
Chisling and other members of the Truro Fire Service took part in the Canada 911 Ride in Nova Scotia this past June, which raises money for the Mikey Network.
This year the bikers donated four defibrillators in memory of fallen emergency personnel – one for Glode, another for the late Truro Police Const. Catherine Campbell, one for a Quebec police officer and the fourth for a Fredericton firefighter.
Campbell’s defibrillator was presented to the Stellarton fire department where she had served as a volunteer firefighter.
Matthew Glode says stationing the defibrillator in the Truro gym is a fitting tribute to his son.
“He loved being a firefighter and he loved being a mixed martial arts fighter,” says Matt. “This gym was definitely his first and his second home, so to see his two passions collide like this is amazing.”
Micky says he will post the defibrillator in a corner of his gym where he already has photos and mementos in memory of Cody.
“We do some pretty intense workouts down here but I’m hoping we actually never have to use it,” says Marshall.
The 2016 Atlantic Run of the Canada 911 Ride presented Mikey defibrillators in honour of:
Cody Alexander Glode – Truro Fire Services
Catherine Campbell – Truro Police Service
Thierry Laroux, Anishnabe Takonewini – Police Service in Quebec
Robert “Bob” James Berryman, Fredericton firefighter
What is an AED?
A Public Access Defibrillator (PAD) or Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) is a portable user-friendly electronic device that automatically diagnoses potentially life-threatening heart rhythms.
If the AED detects a problem that may respond positively to an electric shock, the AED allows a shock to be delivered to restore a normal heart rhythm.
AEDs provide simple audio and visual instructions and are designed for use by everyone. Some AEDs advise the operator to press a button to deliver the shock. Other AEDs automatically provide a shock if the heart is in a fatal rhythm.
The Mikey Network says using an AED can increase a victim’s chance of survival by up to 50 per cent.
The Mikey Network Blog says 35 people have been saved by Mikey AEDS – the most recent was a 56-year hockey player saved by a teammate Dec. 29 in a rink north of Toronto.
- SOURCE: The Mikey Network
