sitting on side of road, i'm doing 75, what looks like elderly man trying to get him up......i start looking for place to U turn and in my rear view mirror..........i saw him go DOWN. arms, legs splayed.......i knew he was out.

seemed like an hour to get back to him. i had all my medical equipment with me.......who knew i was that smart.

no vital signs what so ever. he was extremely large. i started CPR and couldn't get enough pressure from kneeling by him and i just jumped on top of him and did 30 compressions and then jumped off and did the 5 breaths and back and forth and back and forth and in the meantime his idiot wife was screaming and keening and i was yelling to call an ambulance and she was saying "if i leave, he'll die" and i finally used all the southern lady words that i possess, as i was doing the compressions............and told her to get into the car and go to her house, 1/4 mile up road.......calll.........then a woman stopped and called an ambulance AND DROVE OFF.......by then i had decided, but didn't quit, that he had been gone long enough to not have oxygen to the brain and was so scared and he vomited all over my face................yucky. i turned him on his side.......blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and 15 minutes later ambulance came and took him to hosp...guess what he had done the day before...i wormed it out of wife. ODed on insulin by accidentallly injecting eighty units instead of 40! they didn't even go to ER when that happened. and believe me, it wasn't for lack of money. they had that new cadillac thingy car. AND he split his knee open, which i could not tend to and his forehead was spurting blood on me and when it was over, i bawled and bawled and bawled and the wife didn't even thank me. i guess it was the southern lady words that i used when i was telling her to shut up and go call an ambulance....any agreement there?

[wi_fighter]

See, listening to all the gossip and staring at adolescent thong-covered butt cracks paid off after all.

[Sabrina]

Oh my goodness. I'm at a loss for words. I would have run a zillion miles out of sheer fear and ignorance (would have called an ambulance first though).

You did a very selfless thing. Thank you for sharing it with humour!! (Well, I thought so anyway)

[DocClyde]

Thank you for your saving a life, fayerody...very impressed!

[kimmydawn]

(((((((((((((((pat)))))))))))))))))))

so awesome and brave and giving!!! if i'm ever down, i want you around...down in any way. you're one tough lady...southern words prove it!

much love and respect,

kd

[Lexicon78]

Very well done! You should be very proud of yourself!

[short_n_swt]

It's a good thing that you did, it's to bad that there aren't more people like you in this world!

((hugs)) for being so generous and caring!!!!

[Parker10]

WTG !!!!!!!! So many people would just panic or drive away, but not our Pat !!! What a hero !

you know.......it must have looked funny.......what do you think what all those people that passed when i was sitting on him and doing the compressions thought? that we were doing the texas two step or something?????????????? my family won't let me forget that one for a long time. AND if you ever see a large person choking and you cannot get your fists under their rib cag to squeeze.......go lower and then try the abdomen.......then if the T-bone steak that they swallowed whole doesn't take flight.......you throw a leg around their knee and ease them to the floor and straddle them and do the heimlich backwards??? get it????

there is indeed some humor in saving lives!!!!

it actually did more for my self-confidence than i would have imagined it would do. because in case you don't remember........i killed my dummy so now i know i learned all of that stuff, all of it and i just had to do it...

thanks for the encouragement.......and i guess having to hear the pimp arrangements and seeing the shocking pink thongs and the american flag painted on the long nails and listening to how drunk someone got the night before and how she puked all over her date........was worth it, W1........

You tough lady! Wow! Way to go! Skip the talking get to action! lol

(((((((((((((Fayerody))))))))))))
(((((((((((((That man)))))))))))
(((((((((((((The man's hysterical wife))))))))))))

[Maven]

You did a wonderful thing! It's good there are people like you out there!

way to go pat!..see what happens?....just when you think the worst of SOME people......someone like yourself comes along and restores our faith in humankind!....i'm so proud of you!

[tracylee]

Good one!!! I am just wandering though, southern america and southern england, do the words mean the same???hehehehe. Well done and huggles, if it was me, I would have frozen to the spot. Brilliant!!!

[Danialla]

Wow......I am very impressed! What you did was WONDERFUL!!!

Congratulations on a job well done!

[bipolar_bear]

If something should ever happpen to me I hope that there is someone like you around. What a great thing to do. Way to go.

[(JD)]

WOW there WAS drama in your trip after all! lol Way to go!!! Talk about an adrenalyn rush! That's what helped you save him... (yeah, barf is bad.) I guess the old lady was in shock. She'd already had a bad day but that was quite a bit insensitive of her imo.

yay fay!

[hillbunnyb]

I wanna see the movie..... GOOD JOB GOOD STORY great visuals.....

[desirae]

I wish I had the (you know what) to do that. I would have passed out at the sight of blood, and probably would have thrown up all over the place if I was threw up on.

That was a very brave and courageous act of generosity..awesome job!

[DaveyJones]

Way to go, Pat! Scary though it was, I know that you're glad you were able to help. I knew you could do it!

Hugs,
DJ

[LMo]

OMG Ethel! That's awesome! You are a superstar! Karma points all around for you!!!!

is it "charma" or is it "karma"?

[cherybery]

WOOHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
That is awesome! Isn't the new CPR guidelines nice!
I bet the wife was in shock. I had something very similar happen to me and it wasn't till a couple days later his wife showed up to my work. I was floored. I bet she is talking about what you did too other family members!!!! WTG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

1. you listen, touch and look. listen at the nose for breath, touch for a pulse and look for the chest moving. if none of that is there.......there are no vital signs. tilt the jaw back and up and give two quick breaths.......then start the compressions and the breaths.

2. do not remove dentures. dentures keep the mouth in shape and enable you to achieve a seal for the breaths. and yes, you can use a mouth guard. i don't use one. i don't feel comfortable with it.

i left the above out and i might as well lay it all out in the order of how it goes down.

i've seen people react/respond differently in all kinds of situations.....i think my upbringing is responsible for my attitude about emergencies. my mom was a midwife and we lived on a ranch. with daily animal emergencies......you couldn't just stand around and gawk...... it's due to my mom and dad.

[eskielover]

Wow Pat,

That was wonderful that you were able to do that & successfully save his life. Sometimes it is easier to know what to do, but putting it into practice is a whole other thing. How wonderful that you were able to put your knowledge into action. I must say, your account of the situation was so good, I could picture the whole event.....& the humor was very good too.

I would imagine that his wife was in a state of shock, & that was probably why she didn't say what she should have said it the way of thanking you. I would hope that after she is able to stop I think back on it, she will realize that is was a wonderful thing you were able to do. I know that sometimes peoples minds shut off in the middle of an emergency, & can't seem to do even the simple thing like calling for an ambulance.

I know for me, I am able to handle animal emergencies, but when it comes to people, that is a different story.

You should be very proud of what you did.....you are truely a hero.
Debbie