A local anesthesiologist is alive today thanks to the quick thinking and great team work of some friends.

Gary Cook was diving with a group in Blue Lake near Wendover, Utah when he suffered a heart attack.

Patty Christensen was there to help save his life, "it started to stir up so I took ahold of his hand and said let's start up and started back up the rope...."

Suddenly, Patty saw blood in Gary's mask, "All of a sudden he said I want to go up, I said you want to go up and he said yeah, I said ok"

"When we got there (the surface) he went unconscious, when we hit the 5 foot; there's a 5 foot area so we are ripping his gear off as fast as we can."

"He was totally blue, when they pulled his regulator and pulled off everything his body was just blue and they started doing CPR on him"

Kevin Merrill, an EMT from Jefferson County was diving with Tammy and Gary, he started the CPR, Tammy joined the effort.

"I heard them say there is no pulse we have no pulse."

After 4 minutes, there was a sudden turn.

"After I'm doing compressions I said I think I feel a heart beat with my hand, and Kevin says keep going for a few more minutes.  He checked the pulse then all of sudden, I feel this tremendous pounding on my hand it was the most awesome feeling in my life because I have done CPR on people before and this is my first save and I'm 50.  I've never had this feeling and they say you only get one in a lifetime and this was my one."

"I don't think I was the hero, I think the people that were there were. Kevin Merrill was the hero because he was doing breaths and he was doing the compressions. Belinda, she towed him in, and the kids, they ran -- I mean they ran a long ways to get help. They called the people on the phone; we worked as a team. I mean I don't think I was a hero in my eyes I was doing what I was supposed to do but I had a neat team behind me."

Cook is recovering at the LDS hospital in Salt Lake City.  Doctors expect him to make a full recovery.

He called Patty Tuesday morning to thank her.