NORTH PORT, Fla. (SNN TV) – How do you thank first responders who saved your life three times? For one North Port man, the answer was “sweetly.”
After retiring in 2010, Richard Davis and his wife had it easy.
“[We were] traveling mostly, more local than anything,” Davis recalled.
Then in February of this year, things took a turn.
“I was doing a project in my garage and I fell, and consequently I broke my femur,” said Davis.
Around a month later, things turned worse. He had to put his wife in a dementia facility.
Then 24 hours later, on April 1, it went from worse to worst.
“I was having therapy with a professional therapist and I had blood clots in my lung that went to my heart,” Davis remembered.
First responders from North Port Fire Station 84 (C shift) came to help. They arrived within six minutes.
In that time, Davis was later told he died. Again, and again. Three times.
But life won over death — his therapist had performed CPR as fire rescue were on their way.
“A bystander present performing CPR allows blood to keep circulating until we get there,” said Lt. Michael Tackman from Fire Station 84 in North Port.
In fact, NFL player Damar Hamlin’s survival after collapsing during a game this year was credited to immediate CPR. The first responders SNN spoke to for this story remembered that event and said residents should “100%” take a CPR class.
In Davis’ case, first responders took over CPR, stabilized Davis, and took him to a hospital. That would usually be the last time this crew would see someone they saved. But not this time.
“I just have the feeling one day that I really had to do something,” Davis said.
Davis showed up to the station unannounced, and as luck would have it, the same crew who saved him was there.
“It was kind of poetic,” said Tackman.
Davis had a cake made for the crew, with six simple words written after their six-minute arrival: “Thank you for saving my life.”
“It was just awesome to walk in, but it was great for him to bring in a cake also,” Tackman said, followed by laughter from the C Chift.
You can check with your local fire department to see if they offer CPR classes. The North Port Fire Department does, and they last around 2-3 hours.
