Wayne Howell went to Memorial Stadium to watch his granddaughter twirl with the Huskers. On Saturday, he reunited with the people who helped make sure he could see her again.
The Bellevue man suffered cardiac arrest during the Sept. 5th football game. Bystanders, American Red Cross volunteers, police and Lincoln Fire and Rescue worked together to resuscitate him and get him to the hospital. “The good Lord just held my hand and held their hands,” Howell told KLIN News. “They are responsible for me being alive today.”
Lincoln Fire and Rescue recognized Howell and his rescuers during Saturday’s gathering at Fire Station 1. The reunion gave those involved a chance to meet outside the crowded, noisy stadium where they had worked to save his life.
Christy Hash, a registered nurse at Bryan who helped perform CPR, said she saw Howell stumble on the stadium stairs. She initially thought he needed water in the heat, but another person nearby said he did not appear to be breathing.
Hash has been a nurse at Bryan for 23 years. Although she had performed CPR in the hospital, she had never done it outside that setting. “The amount of people that were there that helped was amazing,” Hash told KLIN News. “It was not anything that I did by myself by any stretch. It was a full team effort.”
Another nurse helped apply the pads for an automated external defibrillator, and rescuers used a mask from the AED kit to provide breaths, Hash said. The stadium was so loud that she and another rescuer struggled to hear the device’s instructions.
Dr. Shaila Coffey, the Red Cross medical director and EMS branch director at the stadium, watched the response through binoculars from the stadium’s command area. When she saw CPR underway, she alerted the others coordinating the emergency response.
Police cleared space around Howell while others worked to keep elevators and hallways open for his evacuation. Coffey said the speed with which rescuers recognized the emergency and began treatment made a critical difference. “They got pads on within 15 seconds of starting CPR, which is unheard of,” Coffey told KLIN News.
The rescue came during a demanding day for stadium medical teams. Coffey said there were more than 150 EMS calls for service that day, with Red Cross volunteers repeatedly climbing the stairs to reach people needing help in the heat.
Despite the noise, tight seating and crowds, Coffey said the response brought together people from several organizations who knew what needed to happen. By the time Howell reached Lincoln Fire and Rescue crews, he was moving again, she said. “It took everybody here to save one life,” Coffey said during the ceremony.
LFR firefighter paramedic Tim Freshman said the department’s crews regularly practice CPR, and he emphasized the importance of people nearby recognizing an emergency and helping before firefighters arrive. “So please, please, please, if you don’t know CPR, learn it,” Freshman said.
Howell said he underwent open-heart surgery and is now recovering, taking short walks to rebuild his strength. During the ceremony, he spoke about what surviving means for his family and his marriage of more than 50 years. “I’d like to be married to her for another 50 years,” Howell said.
He also encouraged others to learn the skills that helped bring him home. “I would say that the ability to help an individual who is in crisis health-wise is one of the most important things you can do in your life,” Howell told KLIN News.
