Location of Event – Neighborhood in Clarksville, TN
Monday, June 5th, 2017, is the day that changed my life forever. Because of Ray Davidson, I will for the rest of my life, be known as a survivor of sudden cardiac arrest.
It started like any other normal day. I had just finished chatting with my daughter-in-law. I put on my shoes and went out with my two dogs for our morning walk. My husband and I were in the process of moving from Tennessee to Colorado. The moving company was coming the next day. Three houses down, I suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed in the street.
Ray Davidson, my forever hero, entered my life. Ray said goodbye to his wife and daughters that morning and headed off to another day of work. He had no way of knowing that by the end of the day, he would be on the six o’clock news, hearing terms like “hero” and “life saver.”
Ray came around the corner, in his truck, and saw me laying in the street, my two dogs by my side. I was not breathing and had no pulse. He stopped, called 911, and with their assistance began CPR, which he continued till First Responders arrived. In the rain, he kept doing CPR for a stranger, he never gave up on me. First Responders then restarted my heart with an AED and transported me to the hospital ER.
There are so many people to thank: First Responders, Police, EMS, Doctors and Nurses in the ER and later in the ICU. I have no memory of the events of that morning and most of the next week. I spent the next week in intensive care, and I am still dealing with short term memory issues resulting from the time I was down. However, because of Ray, I have a new life. I say I have a new life because the doctors in both the ER and ICU told my family, “She was dead in the street, and is alive now because Ray Davidson found her and performed CPR.” There are no words to adequately describe the gratitude I and my family have for Ray. I cry to this day at the thought of what he did for me.
Because of what Ray did, his company, Waste Industries of Clarksville, TN, has sponsored CPR classes for its employees.
Ray Davidson saved my life that day, and he is so deserving of this award. Nothing would bring me greater joy than to see him recognized for his kind and unselfish heroism that day.
Nominated by Kelly Plummer