SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – Two weeks ago, 65-year-old Brad Holyoak’s life changed.
“Just like that, as fast as snapping your fingers,” Holyoak said. “I was dead and they brought me back to life, that’s something I won’t forget.”
He went into cardiac arrest in his Spokane Valley home, falling unconscious into his bathtub face first. His wife called 911.
One of the firefighters who responded to the call was Nick Pendergrass.
“He’s very lucky to be alive,” Pendergrass said. “They’re not breathing, their heart’s not pumping, we just go to do our job.”
That overwhelming gratitude compelled Holyoak and his wife to pay the team at Spokane Valley Fire Department (SVFD) station 10 a surprise visit late last week.
“I call my wife my angel, but these guys were angels too,” Holyoak said. “To stick with it and not give up and bring me back, they really gave me a second life, and I really do look at life different.
It was a first of its kind heartwarming reunion for Pendergrass.
“We do our job to help people, we don’t do it for recognition at all or to know what happens with our patients down the road with one of our patients, but it’s the cherry on top,” Pendergrass said. “To see brad, and to see a smile on his face and to have him say ‘you guys gave me a second chance at life,’ that’s pretty cool.”
“They should be patted on the back for what they do,” Holyoak said. “More people should give them credit and thank them for what they do.”
The Spokane Valley Fire Department says quick CPR likely saved Holyoak’s life, and automatically increases the chances of survival from cardiac arrest.
SVFD firefighters and paramedics offer free CPR classes on the second Saturday of every month. For more information and to register for one of those classes, click here.
