train any onlookers willing to help. Once Buckley tired, one of the onlookers subbed in. Several of them continued that way for 20 minutes until help arrived.
“We’re all saying, ‘come on man, come on man,'” Buckley says.
The ambulance pulled up and paramedics rushed to Holton’s side. “It was this moment of relief that finally help is here,” Buckley recalls. “I thought to myself, ‘Survive, sir!'”
EMS workers used an automated external defibrillator, or AED, to shock Holton’s heart to get it working again. It wasn’t clear if it worked. They loaded him into the ambulance and drove away.
Buckley and Isang finished their ride, cycling in silence. They wondered if Holton was OK. Buckley felt emotional about the experience and called his wife and mother. He thought he’d just seen someone die.
“It was a really sad evening,” he shares.
The next week, Buckley got a call from a rescue squad officer. Holton was alive, the officer told him.
“I was just overjoyed,” Buckley says.
An immediate bond
Holton was still in the hospital trying to piece together what happened. Even now, all he remembers is leaving his house and then finding himself in a hospital bed.
“When I woke up in the ICU, I was heavily sedated and I didn’t know how many days I’d been there,” Holton shares. It was 14.
In the hospital, doctors found no blockages in Holton’s heart. The cause of his cardiac arrest on the trail was