MARSHALL COUNTY, Tenn. (WKRN) — A senior citizen is still alive thanks to an off-duty Franklin firefighter who happened to be attending a Marshall County high school graduation ceremony last month.
Cornersville High School’s graduation ceremony was well underway on May 16 when a man in the back of the room suddenly collapsed on the hard gym floor. You can hear the thud in a YouTube video of the event.
According to Jayce Pickle, a firefighter and advanced emergency medical technician with the Franklin Fire Department, the senior citizen was in full cardiac arrest.
The video shows the man collapse, and within 10 seconds, a spectator in a pink shirt rose out of the stands and ran to the man in distress. That man in the pink shirt was Pickle, a husband and father of three who was in the crowd to see his two nieces graduate.
“I heard him hit the ground before I actually saw it and I just jumped up and did what I thought I was supposed to do,” Pickle recalled. “When I got to him, I felt for a pulse, I didn’t feel one, he wasn’t breathing, I just started CPR.”
While Pickle and others worked to revive the senior citizen, a hush came over the auditorium and the graduation paused. After a few minutes, it became obvious the man was alive.
“The next thing you know, he’s coming back around, talking to us,” Pickle said.
The senior citizen was rushed to a waiting ambulance, but before the graduation continued, the crowd cheered to thank all of the first responders.
Pickle said that moment still makes his heart smile: “It was pretty awesome, to be honest with you. A lot of my friends, man, they put stuff on Facebook. It made my wife proud and my kids…The next morning, I’m on shift, Chief Johnson’s already sent me an email saying he heard what I did and how proud he was of it…I feel good. I didn’t want to brag, didn’t really want all this, didn’t want all the posts, but I’m here now and I guess I should just eat it up.”
News 2’s Andy Cordan asked Pickle what he would say to the man he saved.
“I was glad I was there, glad I was able to help you, glad you and your wife can still go out and enjoy, and they said he was having a Dr Pepper that night when he fell out, so maybe we can get together and have a Dr Pepper some time,” Pickle replied.
According to the American Heart Association, the chance of survival after a heart attack decreases by 10% every minute without CPR.