Man Saves Stranger With CPR, Encourages Everyone To Take A Class

July 2, 2019

A man saved the life of a stranger who had a massive heart attack on the street in Topsham, Maine. The hero, Nate Howard, posted the story on social media to encourage others to take a CPR class.

Credit: u/frigginnathan

This is what he wrote:

"My wife and I were stopping at the store to get get dinner, and I saw an older gentleman laid down in the road in front of the store, so I pulled over and rushed to his side. Another guy was next to him checking his pulse and said he couldn't find it, so we pulled him out of the road, and immediately begin chest compressions.

The two of us worked on him for about five minutes or so while a whole bunch of onlookers just stood there.

The paramedics finally arrived and took over, and after shocking him several times and what felt like a lifetime, were able to stabilize him, and get him to the hospital. Police officer came over and told us he had a massive heart attack. He then shook my hand and congratulated us for saving this complete stranger, and said had we not been there and acted as fast as we had that he would of absolutely not made it.

This morning the family contacted me and I went to the hospital to meet this man. Turns out he had Vfib and died three times at the hospital and had we not sprung into action as fast as we did he wouldn't of even made it there. The doctor told me that people have less than a 10% survival rate, and couldn't remember the last time he saw somebody survive this.

This man Stephen is super awesome and incredibly funny. Every year he is Santa Claus for the kids in his town and hosts an event called "Meet Santa" at the high school, and he even promised me were gonna toss back a few beers when he's fully recovered.

Mine and another guys quick response to an emergency situation is why he’s here today, so again I urge anyone who reads this to learn how to do CPR. Two hours of your time can make a lifetimes worth of difference to somebody else."

Find a CPR class near you here.