Dallas runner meets rescuer who saved her during cardiac arrest
The Dallas half marathon runner who went into cardiac arrest with about a mile to go finally met one of the people who saved her life.
Bailey Adam had no pulse and was not breathing when Dallas ISD Officer Orintheus Buster and two other runners began life-saving CPR.
The two other runners were both doctors. They were all at the same place at the exact moment Adam went into a medical crisis.
READ MORE: Dallas runner who collapsed during race saved by strangers
Adam’s heart is happy and thankful for Officer Buster. He helped her when she suddenly went into cardiac arrest nearly two weeks ago during the Dallas Rock & Roll Half Marathon.
Greenville OBGYN Malissia Zapata ran in the race. She was one of the first to reach Adam when she collapsed.
“I was running, and I heard a thud in the background. I knew what it was,” Zapata said. “She was responsive at the time. She told us her name. We called the police officer over.”
“I’m asking for help over the radio. I’m fanning her. Pouring water on top of her,” Buster recalled.
“And then at one point, another doctor came in,” Zapata said.
Running that day as well was Shreveport ER physician Esther Holloway. She also jumped in to help when Adam went into cardiac arrest.
“She stopped breathing and had no pulse,” recalled Holloway. “And so we started CPR.”
“Her eyes were rolling in the back of her head and I started CPR,” Buster said.
“I was doing the rescue breaths. We did CPR for about a minute, maybe a little less,” Holloway said. “And then her pulse came back.”
“She lets out this large breath, and she starts breathing,” Zapata said. “At that time point, we get a pulse. Literally, the paramedics arrived right at that time.”
Adam go to thank the paramedics on Thursday. She was finally able to thanks Officer Buster, who learned CPR as a teenage lifeguard. He received a lifesaving bar for his efforts. But he was certainly not the only angel assigned to Adam at the half marathon that day.
“I’d love to meet the other two women that were kind of a part of it,” Adam said.
Officer Buster said while he and the women had their hands on Adam, a man showed up and placed his hands on the officer and began praying. Buster said that helped as much as any CPR they were doing.