Two medical professionals from Cheyenne were singled out as “hometown heroes” on Friday in front of a packed crowd at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
Nurse Kim Coulter and nursing assistant Eli Burgess were given a standing ovation in front of 20,000 people for saving the life of a man who suffered a near-deadly heart attack while working at Walmart last November.
Coulter and Burgess were shopping when Damon Tweedy collapsed in an aisle and stopped breathing.
“But the story didn’t end there,” CFD announcer Garrett Yerigan said while dramatic music from the “Top Gun” soundtrack played in the arena.
“Due to the quick thinking and care that these customers— who just happened to be in the store shopping that day — gave the man, he survived and is so thankful for the immediate care that he received on that day,” Yerigan said.
Doctors said he suffered a “widow maker” heart attack, which in most cases, is fatal.
“Today we would like to welcome those two selfless individuals in our audience,” the announcer’s voiced boomed in the arena.
As Yerigan has done during previous hero ceremonies, he paused and told the crowd to recognize their efforts.
“Tell them that they are heroes,” he said, as people rose clapping their hands and voicing their approval.
Coulter and Burgess stood from the Cowboy Skill sponsor box and waved back at the crowd.
The “hometown hero” ceremonies have been going all week at Cheyenne Frontier Days and is sponsored by Cowboy Skill of Wyoming.
“This is such an amazing story and shows we don’t thank our health professionals enough for everything they do – even when they are off duty,” said Paul Goldean, president of Pace-O-Matic, which creates Cowboy Skill games. “We at Cowboy Skill and Pace-O-Matic are thrilled we could host Kim and Eli today.”
Earlier this week, two other people were honored as heroes including a Green River man who saved the lives of a woman and her youngest child who were inside a burning house and the Lakewood, Colorado police officer who stopped a mass shooter.
