When 46-year-old David Lindsey's heart stopped beating in the bed of a truck behind a strip of shops and restaurants in Ridgeland, the first medical professionals to reach his side were an unlikely bunch. They were summoned by Logan Russell, one of Lindsey's friends who'd just completed a group bike ride with him. Russell ran to the Sombra Mexican Kitchen in the Township at Colony Park in search of a doctor. There, he found the University of Mississippi Medical Center pediatric emergency team celebrating the retirement of Dr. Magolia Castilla, their former director. One of the physicians was Dr. Michael Holder, who had just finished an overnight shift in the pediatric Emergency Department followed by a full day of teaching. “I got there, sat down and ordered a drink - and this gentleman bursts in,” said Holder, associate professor of emergency medicine. “At first, we thought it was a retirement prank for Dr. Castilla, but the gentleman was really quite frightened. When he pointed out an area in the parking lot, he was screaming.” Holder and Dr. Emily Weber, professor of emergency medicine, were among those who first sprang from their seats. “We all took off in a dead sprint,” Holder said. He jumped in the bed of the truck and began CPR on Lindsey, relieving bicyclists Rik Tice and Randy Tackett, former EMTs who'd been doing chest compressions from the time Lindsey passed out after finishing the ride at about 7 p.m. April 21. Like he's done many times, Lindsey had ridden with a Jackson Metro Cyclists group on their regular Thursday evening route, a 20-mile loop around Lake Cavalier in Madison County that ended in the parking area behind Soulshine Pizza. |