Heart Attack

Here is what i got in my inbox today. So you know my husbands name is Cedric Hughes, i will bold his name. I am so proud of him! I am also very glad that his friend is still alive.


JOINT BASE BALAD, Iraq -- Whether servicemembers at JBB have a “wingman” or a “battle buddy,” the ethos of helping a comrade-in-need arose during a basketball game here July 14.

Headed by their coach, Sgt.1st Class Anthony Jones of the 699th Maintenance Company, a basketball team compiled of Airmen and Soldiers aided their fellow team member, 1st Sgt. Eric Colvin of the 699th Maintenance Co., after he began exhibiting heart-attack symptoms during a game at the West Side Gym.

“I knew he had a heart attack years ago,” said Sergeant Jones, a member of the same unit as Sergeant Colvin. “Actually, it was four years ago that day. When I saw him slumping over in the chair, I knew he wasn’t just kidding around. I knew he was having another heart attack.”

Sergeant Jones wasn’t the only one to take notice to the first sergeant’s change in health. Airman Jeffery McCarty of the 322nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron and referee during the game, aided in procuring support for the unwell warrior.

Airman Jones said the first sergeant was sitting on the sidelines during a time-out, when he appeared to be choking.

“I ran to get a phone to call for help and was yelling that we needed a medic,” he said. “The (third country national) working at the gym found a phone and I dialed 9-1-1. Then I went outside the gym trying to find a building number, so I could tell the operator where we were.”

Staff Sgt. Cedric Hughes, 532nd Expeditionary Security Forces Squadron supply logistics, and Sergeant Jones attempted to keep Sergeant Colvin alert as his breathing became more shallow and scarce. Although they continued to support their fellow servicemember, his condition worsened.

“We knew things were going bad when his hands started to curl and his jaw locked,” said Sergeant Jones.

Realizing the time had come to start emergency care, Sergeant Hughes began the process of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. After giving the Shirt two breathes, he handed off the task in order to retrieve help from someone at the outdoor pool, approximately one-quarter mile away from the basketball court. He was able to attain assistance from lifeguard and aquatics coordinator, Andrea Walters.

“We were doing some training with our senior lifeguard instructor when Sergeant Hughes ran up to the pool and got our attention,” said Miss Walters. “Two other lifeguards and I followed him to the basketball court where there was a crowd of people gathered. They parted like the Red Sea when they saw us run in.”

She said amid the sea of concerned spectators, was Sergeant Colvin on his back on the floor. She began assisting with rescue breathing. After multiple rounds of CPR in conjunction with the automatic external defibrillator – there was still no pulse.

“I started reciting Psalm 23 in his ear and told him to keep fighting,” she said. “I could hear everyone praying around us. God was our autopilot that day”

Eventually, medics arrived and were able to stabilize their patient, who was flown to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center, Germany, and is now at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Warrior Transition Unit, Washington, D.C.

“I just talked to him on the phone,” said Sergeant Jones. “He’s doing great and resting up, but he expressed that he wants to come back (to JBB). He is a Solider -- he wants to come back to the fight.”