Heroes of the Heartland: Beaman man assists coworker during massive heart attack

Kelly Tompkins—or Hoss, as he's universally known—isn’t a medical professional, but thanks to his side job at the Marshalltown YMCA, he’s certified in CPR. No one is more grateful for this training than his Lennox Warehouse coworker Bob Averill, who suffered a massive heart attack last April and still feels incredibly lucky that he lived to tell the tale.
 
“Had Hoss not been there and done what he did, you and I wouldn’t be talking,” Averill said. “Everything had to fall into place that day perfectly for it to come out the way it did. It’s miraculous. I get choked up every time I think about it.”
 
Tompkins, who lives in Beaman with his wife Jill and their two children, recently learned that he’s one of seven recipients of this year’s American Red Cross of Central Iowa Heroes of the Heartland award, and to hear him tell it, it’s all a bit surreal.
 
“I just told Bob ‘Hey, just buy me a Diet Coke, and we’ll call it even,’” he said.
 
On an otherwise normal day, Averill—61 years old at the time—had unloaded a semi truck at around 2:30 in the afternoon and began acting erratically, dropping several loads and crashing into walls with his forklift. Tompkins, at first laughing, quickly realized the situation was serious when he saw his colleague leaning up against his vehicle near the steel shelving, slumped over and turning blue. Unsure of what to do next and aware that the situation had become life and death, he let his instincts take over.
 
“He’s 4 ½ feet off the floor. I’m thinking, do I grab him and try to drag him off here? Do I risk dropping him on his head? I’m thinking, ‘Crap,’” Tompkins said. “I just kind of held him up with this hand and started doing compressions.”
 
It took four minutes for emergency personnel to arrive, and every one of those 240 seconds counted. Tompkins continued to administer CPR, and a doctor later told him that his actions played a crucial role in keeping Averill alive.
 
“I had no track of time. It felt like hours,” he said. “I’m trying to do what I can, and I’m thinking ‘Am I even doing anything for this poor guy?’ But he’s breathing. Not very well, but he’s breathing.” 
 
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