2 Atrium Health employees forge lifelong bond over near-tragedy
When you see Brandon Hord and Calvin Cobb walking together, you may assume they’re friends or coworkers.
That is because Cobb is the reason Hord is alive.
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In January, Hord, an EMT for Atrium Health, had a heart attack and was being driven by his mother to the hospital when he went into cardiac arrest on Cherryville Road in Shelby.
Channel 9′s Hunter Sáenz spoke with the two men about a fateful day and the friendship that came out of it.
Hord’s mother pulled over the car and began CPR while attempting to flag down other drivers for help.
Cobb, a paramedic for Atrium Health, was driving down the same road.
“As I got closer to the scene, I could see someone laying on the ground,” Cobb said, “And that’s where I saw his mom and then Brandon was just laying there.”
Cobb stopped his car, asked Hord’s mother a few questions, and performed CPR on Hord until other first responders arrived.
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Hord was then rushed to a hospital, where he stayed in the ICU for six days. Almost two of those were spent in a medically induced coma.
“I can’t even describe how lucky I am to be here. It’s amazing,” said Hord.
Doctors in the ICU were not sure if Hord was going to live and gave his family little hope. However, Hord pulled through and celebrated his 33rd birthday a few days later.
“That may have been the best birthday I ever had because I was here to experience my 33rd birthday,” Hord told Channel 9.
It wasn’t until later that Hord realized the man who saved his life was a person he sometimes passed in the same hallways.
Another factor that makes this story so remarkable is the fact that Cobb wasn’t supposed to be in that part of the county on that day, he was helping another paramedic with patient visits. If Cobb hadn’t scheduled the extra visit or stopped for lunch he and Hord would have never crossed paths.
This story is not only about being in the right place at the right time, it also shows that the right training can save lives when time matters most. For more information about CPR classes in our area, please visit the links below.
(WATCH BELOW: Atrium Health finalizes merger with midwestern healthcare company)
