Cook back with the heat

Chief Paul Cook of the North Bay Police Service is back at work after recovering from a heart attack just over three months ago.

Cook suffered the cardiac arrest at the Patrick4Life Family Run back on June 8, which resulted in a triple-bypass surgery in Sudbury less than two weeks later. After clearing his final medical check-up last week, he was cleared to return to the line of duty on Monday.

“I’m really pleased to be back, it was a long and interesting summer,” Chief Cook said on Tuesday afternoon. “I get a little pain and I’m a little tired, but it’s quite a process; it’s been a long journey.

“It’s still the first week back so there’s a lot of catching up to do, but so far so good.”

Cook said he is very thankful for the support he received from the Police Service and the community during his rehabilitation.

“Fortunately for me, I received all kinds of love and support from family, friends and policing colleagues from across the province, and that certainly assisted my wife and I,” Cook said. “I want to thank everyone that did reach out and check on us while we went through this.”

Deputy Chief Shawn Devine held the position of Acting Chief while Cook was on medical leave and said he learned a lot from the challenges while his colleague was recovering.

“I have enjoyed the role, I’ve enjoyed the challenges,” said Devine. “It’s been a busy summer, not just with the Chief recovering from his health issues, but we’re like any other organization where staff take summer vacations too, but the challenges were good.”

Chief Cook said Devine did a great job filling in for him and felt comfortable with the job in his hands.

"I want to thank him and the command staff team for running the shop in my absence,” said Cook. ”He was great; he was very respectful of the fact that I had been through a significant ordeal.

“I made it clear to him that he could call or reach out to me, but for the most part he ran the shop on his own, and I do appreciate that,” Cook concluded.