Kevin McCullen, Richland, WA – 52 at time of event (2008) - now DECEASED
A nuclear hazard, a pet sitter and an anonymous bystander all conspired to save Kevin. Without the nearby Hanford Nuclear reservation, Brad Jackson, a hazardous materials training instructor, would not have been driving by. We don’t know anything about the bystander, except that it was their call that brought the EMTs. The bystander, however, didn’t do anything else! And the pet sitter? Well, she was able to identify the victim, by recognizing the dog of course!
Kevin was out running that Monday morning in May, having taken diet and exercise seriously after requiring angioplasty (a stent operation) in 2005. He had his lovely Gordon Setter bird-dog, Konnor, with him and they were within sight of their home when Kevin fell face down on the pavement. Konnor stopped and waited. Kevin didn’t get up. Kevin didn’t move at all, and Konnor sensed something was wrong. Driving down that street on a impulse, Brad saw Kevin prone on the ground and Konnor sitting beside him, licking his face. He stopped to check that everything was OK. It wasn’t. Brad started CPR, because he realized it was serious. Kevin had no pulse, no breaths and was unresponsive. He was dying on the sidewalk.
When the EMTs arrived they attempted to restore Kevin’s heartbeat, unsuccessfully. They decided to transport him to Kadlec Medical Center in Tri-Cities, Washington, only a few minutes away. On the way the crew tried the defibrillator one more time, and Kevin’s heart restarted.
Just the previous month Kevin had passed his cardiac evaluation. The deadly plaque was not evident, but it had now ruptured and triggered a cardiac arrest. [Just like Tim Russert.] It caused a 100% blockage of the LAD*, and the emergency physician identified it immediately. Another stent solved the problem, and saved Kevin’s heart, but his mind? Well, they would just have it wait and see.
The next day, Kevin’s younger brother flew in from England. He was shocked to see Kevin in the ICU. “I had tubes coming out of me, with all the IV lines and the hypothermia** machine. [My brother] told me later ‘You looked like a Borg’!” Which any good Trekky (Star Trek next generation) would recognize. Unfortunately the physicians didn’t hold much hope, telling his brother that it was possible Kevin would recover, but that he “might [only] be able to work at McDonalds.”
On Sunday evening, Kevin looked up to see his brother standing beside the bed. “You’re back!” said a person in green scrubs. Kevin turned to see he was in ICU and that a doctor was talking to him, explaining what had occurred. Not that Kevin can recall any of it.
Within three weeks Kevin regained full functionality, and a month later returned to work as the editor for a local newspaper. Also, Konnor still gets his regular walks, and is eager to go hunting again.
“I don’t why [I survived]” Kevin said, “People tell me, ‘Oh, you were so lucky’, and yes I was. But I look at it differently. It’s a matter of faith, and God was looking out for me.”
-Jeremy Whitehead
*The Left Anterior Descending Artery (LAD) supplies 50–70% of blood flow to the heart.
**Induced hypothermia (or therapeutic cooling) is a relatively new technique to reduce brain injury for unconscious patients.