Randy

One of my best friends.

 

A few months ago I had a very trying time in my life. I thought some of you could learn from this as I have, so I thought I would share my story. This is a little heavy (and long), so don’t say I didn’t warn you.

 

The day was Saturday October 29th, 2011 around 9:50am. It was a great day, clear skies and crisp fall air. It was such a nice morning. I had already found a nice place to sit on the airstrip; I was just a few hundred feet from the Blue Angels. It was just my camera and I at the Airshow. My friend was on his way and we were going to get some amazing photos. I receive a call around 10:20am. He’s arrived after being a little late, which isn’t normal for him. I tell him where I am and I begin to keep an eye out. He shows up, and we talk for a little bit. It was the same old same old, chatting about photography. He mentions that he hadn’t been feeling well and didn’t get to sleep until late the night before. He looked beat. He opened up his folding chair and threw himself into the chair. I figured it was just a normal cold or something. He was going to be fine.

 

The next thirty minutes of my life would change the way I see things forever. I was telling my friend about some film cameras I had recently seen at a thrift store. From the corner of my eye, I could see that he took a deep breath and tensed up. He was falling backwards in his chair. I instantly grabbed his chair to keep him from falling to the ground. He began seizing. I got up and stood next to him, calling him. I figured he must have seizures every once in a while. He was going to come out of it. I just knew it. I continued calling him and just waited for him to come to.

 

He stopped seizing, but he didn’t wake up. Something wasn’t right. This wasn’t normal. He wasn’t going to wake up. I looked up to everyone else. People were just staring at us. I could feel their eyes on me. I asked someone to get help, and everyone just looked at each other. In an emergency situation you’re supposed to command one person to get help instead of asking everyone. For some reason I choked. One gentleman got the attention of some airmen. They came over and asked if he was breathing. I didn’t comprehend that question, I didn’t want to. It was as if he had asked me, “Is your friend dying?”

 

They started to check on him, and called for more help. By this time, my friend was as white as a ghost; he had just suffered a major heart attack. I had never seen anyone lose so much color before. Even though it seemed like things were moving so fast only about forty seconds to a few minutes had elapsed. I knew he was in some form of shock. They told me they needed him out of the chair. I went up to him. Uncontrollably shaking, I removed his sunglasses and tried to pry his camera from his hands. After getting the camera out of his hands, I threw it around my neck and slipped off my jacket. They needed something soft to lay him on. I hung his sunglasses on my shirt.

 

These next moments are a bit of a blur. I do not remember EMS showing up. Poof, EMS was there working on him. The ambulance was parked to my back and they were all working on my friend directly in front of me. They were pumping air into his lungs, and shocking him with a defibrillator. I was able to take in more and more of what was happening. It was just all so fast; I didn’t want to believe it was real. I knew his family needed to know. It was the worst feeling in the world. I remember asking myself, “How am I going to tell his family that their loved one is not doing well?” I asked one of the airmen, “Should I call his family?” I already knew the answer. I went up to him while they were working on him. I got yelled at. I explained I needed his cellphone. They handed it to me and I went into his recent calls, found a number that was used a few times, and dialed it.

 

I was very scared. I explained what was happening and tried to soften the blow as much as I could. “They’re doing everything they can for him, I’m going to stay with him. I’ll keep you updated.” His family member told me everything the EMS needed to know. The roaring sound of the jets was deafening. The National Anthem was being sung, and my friend was being jolted with electricity in attempts to save his life.

 

While I was talking with one of the Airmen, a woman approached with a camera. She picked it up to her face, and was about to take a photo. I walked in front of her, “can you please not do this right now?” My friend was dying and she was making a joke of all this. I didn’t understand it. She walked off and as I turned around, she ran back and snapped a photo. I yelled, “Have some respect!” She got a very unwelcomed response from the medical team and walked off.

 

I was a few feet from everything that was happening and my friend. I was uncertain, but I thought these might be his last moments, so I approached him. I didn’t want him to die alone. They didn’t yell or fuss at me this time. I remember imagining that if this was his time, at least he was doing what he loved best, taking photos. I was trying to be brave for him. I stood over them. I was staring down at him as they did CPR and used the defibrillator on him. He was regaining color, and he had opened his eyes. This fight wasn't over. I was looking him straight in the eye. I was expecting the worst, but hoping and praying for the best. Dust was being kicked into the air. Chairs and debris were blowing in the wind. It was like we were in a tornado. Air Life had landed a few hundred feet from where we had just been sitting a few minutes ago. Many people tore the fence down and threw it to the ground. They picked him up and I followed. Instead of loading him into Air Life, they got him into the ambulance. I grabbed my camera bag. With both of our cameras around my neck, a member of the Air force handed me my friends shredded shirt. I jumped in the ambulance, and we took off. As they unloaded him at the hospital I yelled to him the first thing that came to mind, “I’m with you Randy.”

 

His family showed up shortly after. I didn’t leave the hospital until after dark. I visited nearly every day for some time after. I had met his family and we got to know each other very well. It was nearly two to three weeks (if not more) before we got some response from my friend. The doctors were very worried that he may have had brain damage (as was I). I felt really bad. “Did I do everything I could have? Was I too late?” It was a very bad feeling, but his family (and mine) assured me that I had done the very best for him that I possibly could have. His family thanked me for everything and they were very glad I decided to meet him that day.

 

On Thanksgiving Day, I finally got to hear from my friend. He went through a very slow, uncertain, and difficult recovery. He was on thin ice. His son was by his side every single day for many hours at a time. His health was improving and he was finally back to being himself. We met a few weeks into December and had a very nice dinner. I explained everything that had happened to him. He remembers a bit of our conversation at the airshow, but nothing more. The doctors told him that if it wasn’t for my quick action, the outcome might have been very different. There was no time for emotion or thinking during that time, I just did.

 

We both agreed that our story was something that needed to be shared with others. What I’ve learned from this experience is that we’ve only got a limited amount of time with our loved ones. Now, I make the most of what I have and thank God for all the blessings I’ve been given in life. I hope that there is something you can take from my experience; I feel that it has made me a better person all around. Without the support and love from my family and friends I may not have been able to act in the way I did. It still amazes me how that day panned out. The timing was perfect and gave him the best chances for survival. Show someone how much you love them today. Randy is well on his way to a full recovery. I've been feeling a whole lot better about the situation after seeing Randy make such great improvements in his health. Thank you all for the support you showed me and one of my best friends,

 

"I like to consider every year of life after 2003 a bonus" -Randy Ennis January 7th 2012

 

-Louie

Done