KENT, Wash. — At Riverbend Golf Complex in Kent, when one golfer’s heart stopped beating, another golfer leaped into action. They are now telling their story to save more lives.
"Otis, there's the big angel right here," said Chris Honingford as he reunited with Otis Alridge on the golf course. "Thank you so much."
It was their first time meeting face-to-face in weeks on Monday.
"I appreciate it," Honingford said. "Everything you did."
"God put me there to help you brother," Aldridge replied.
Their frightening encounter unfolded during a game of golf on Aug. 20. It is a day Honingford does not remember, and one Alridge will never forget.
"I saw a man that he needed help, and I knew I had to do something,” Alridge said.
Both men were playing in their regular Tuesday league when Honingford, who was recently diagnosed with AFib, collapsed.
"The heart, just when you have AFib, it beats really fast or really slow," Honingford said. "Well, it got to the point where it decided to stop beating, and I was in the middle of a golf swing on the third hole from what I was told."
"I immediately start doing CPR,” said Alridge who was golfing nearby. "My main concern was, at that time, keep a rhythm going in his heart to try to keep blood going to his brain because I knew then that he probably had a heart attack, and there could be some brain damage if I didn't do what I was doing."
Alridge said he kept going for about 15 minutes.
"I just kept doing CPR until the medic got there and took over the situation,” Alridge said.
Honingford was rushed to the hospital. For Alridge, what followed were sleepless nights until Honingford was well enough to see visitors.
"I just wanted to make sure he was okay," Alridge said. Make sure I had done things right."
"I don't think words can express how grateful one could be that they literally saved your life," Honingford said. "There is no greater calling. There is no greater thing that you can do for a human being. I do fully understand that I've been given a new lease on life."
Honingford has a new mission to learn CPR himself. It is a message his family is sharing online to raise awareness.
“Fortunately, I was trained in CPR about 50 years ago," Alridge said. "Never had to use it, and for some reason, it all just came back to me. I just reacted."
"Get out and learn CPR because you never know when it is going to come in handy,” Alridge said.
"It is absolutely necessary,” Honingford said.
CPR education is available at various locations throughout King County.