A 73-year-old California man recently met a team of first responders who brought him back to life after he went into cardiac arrest and stopped breathing while in waters off Waikiki.

"They are godsends. They are angels, all of them. We are eternally grateful," said Karen Wold, whose husband, Robert Wold, was treated by fast-acting lifeguards.

At about 10 a.m. on Oct. 8 in waters fronting The Royal Hawaiian hotel, the couple were relaxing on recreational flotation devices about 10 feet from shore when Karen Wold noticed her husband was facedown in the water.

"When I got to him, his face was blue," she said. "There was no pulse."

Off-duty lifeguard Shawn Wolff was conducting a stand-up paddleboard demonstration when he saw a panicked beachgoer run from the water, calling for a lifeguard. Wolff responded immediately, helping Karen Wold and others pull Robert Wold out of the knee-deep water.

The lifeguard administered a technique called high-performance or high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which involves rapid compressions in cases of apparent cardiac arrest. After about two minutes of applying the CPR technique, an on-duty lifeguard stepped in and administered compressions for 30 more seconds.

Wold’s pulse soon returned and he began breathing again.

Lifeguards placed an automated external defibrillator on Wold before paramedics arrived and transported him to Straub Clinic and Hospital in critical condition. While traveling to the hospital, paramedics administered advanced life support procedures to keep the man stabilized.

After recovering at the hospital for nearly two weeks, Wold was discharged Tuesday.

Before the couple flew back home to Saratoga, Calif., on Wednesday, they met the first responders.

Wolff said, "It was amazing to see him come back, and to meet him and his wife. It was such a blessing."

Dr. Libby Char, who provides medical direction for the city’s Ocean Safety and Lifeguard Services, said, "These guys, they honestly saved his life."

According to a June 2013 American Heart Association journal detailing high-quality CPR, rapid compressions can generate blood flow and oxygen to the heart and brain. Honolulu lifeguards underwent training for the lifesaving method four months ago.

Wolff, 28, who recently began working as a lifeguard for District 2 (Hanauma Bay to Kailua Beach) was among the first to undergo the training. On his days off, he works for the Royal Hawaiian Hotel’s Waikiki Beach Services.