By Elena Perry
The Spokesman-Review
SPOKANE, Wash. 鈥� Brody Graham kneeled over his nonbreathing and bloodied track coach Mike Hadway, desperately performing CPR.
The junior at Lewis and Clark High School had considered the possibility he might someday use CPR, but certainly not on 70-year-old Hadway, who was active and in otherwise good health.
Graham learned CPR while being trained as a lifeguard the summer prior when his instructor told him of another student who had to administer compressions in the middle of a college lecture.
鈥淚 was like, 鈥楾hat could be me.鈥� That thought had run through my mind,鈥� Graham said. 鈥淎nd then it happens, and I鈥檓 like, 鈥榃hoa, I鈥檓 actually using CPR.鈥� 鈥�
Dazed, frightened and alone, the LC track team acted quickly when its beloved coach collapsed near Manito Park during practice in a cardiac arrest last March. Seventeen-year-olds Graham and teammate Grant Lichfield decisively and successfully administered CPR to their coach and saved his life, allowing him to return to his family and continue volunteering as one of the most successful running coaches in the Greater Spokane League, in which many local high schools compete.
鈥淚t鈥檚 terrifying, obviously,鈥� Graham recalled, still picturing the lifeless glaze over Hadway鈥檚 eyes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 this person who all I鈥檝e known him has been living, and now it鈥檚 like, is he there? Is it Hadway? Or is it Hadway鈥檚 body?鈥�
Unlike Graham, Lichfield never could have guessed he would have been in such a scenario, even while being trained to do compressions a week before.
Regardless, Lichfield sprung into action at the sight of his coach as the rest of his team surrounded them, sing-chanting 鈥淪tayin鈥� Alive,鈥� the Bee Gees song that the American Heart Association recommends using as an approximate metronome during CPR.
鈥淚n my head I was like, 鈥業鈥檓 never using that, but whatever. I鈥檒l try to remember that, but odds are I鈥檓 never going to use this,鈥欌�� Lichfield remembers thinking.
He鈥檇 broken a few of Hadway鈥檚 ribs and sternum during compressions, a sign of effective CPR.
The boys gave CPR for a few precious minutes before paramedics arrived to shock Hadway with a defibrillator and take him to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he spent five days hospitalized in recovery. Nearby off-duty paramedic Erik Loney, who rushed to assist just before an ambulance arrived, said in March he didn鈥檛 think Hadway would have survived without the boys鈥� intervention.
鈥淚鈥檓 indebted to them,鈥� Hadway said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to pay for their college education,鈥� he added, nudging Lichfield鈥檚 knee with a laugh.
Hadway has little recollection of his arrest or collapse, only the moments preceding the fall, giving advice to one of his runners. He didn鈥檛 see it coming.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just like I closed my eyes and opened them, and I was looking at the ceiling of an ambulance,鈥� Hadway recalled. 鈥淧aramedics saying, 鈥楥ome on, you can wake up.鈥� 鈥�
The five-day stay was rough for Hadway, who 鈥渉ates hospitals,鈥� he said. He became a sort of celebrity among staff who鈥檇 heard his story or were familiar with his cross country legacy; some excitedly told him they鈥檇 graduated from LC. In the days spent hospitalized, the staff became 鈥渓ike family,鈥� Hadway said.
Recovery at home was arduous, Hadway waiting weeks for his broken ribs to mend and laying low so as to give his heart a rest. His daughter set up a bed in his living room where he passed the time watching the 1950s Western series 鈥淕unsmoke.鈥�
The idle time was unusual for Hadway, still an active coach who took care of his health 鈥� a fact that seemed to contradict his heart giving out. In the hours sitting still, his mind would frequently wander.
鈥淚 was just trying to wrap my brain around, why me? Why did this have to happen? Because I was so healthy, I still am,鈥� Hadway said.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think I really have an answer. I鈥檓 thankful; it鈥檚 just hard to wrap your brain around,鈥� he said.
Hadway couldn鈥檛 sit still forever. Gritting his teeth through the pain and still looking worse for the wear, he returned to Hart Field to watch his athletes race three weeks after his collapse.
Hadway experienced another cardiac arrest in June, resulting in a three-day stint back in the hospital. He鈥檚 on the waiting list for a new heart in the next four to five years, though his good health pushes him further down the transplant list.
Some days are worse than others, he said.
After their lifesaving efforts, the boys have become sort of hometown heroes. Lichfield was once recognized while pumping gas.
Others commended the boys on their technique. A doctor told Mike Lee , track and cross country coach with Hadway, that Hadway鈥檚 skeletal fractures demonstrate some of the best CPR in the doctor鈥檚 medical career.
Hadway鈥檚 neighbor, an EMT, told the coach he gave CPR over 30 times in his career with only one survivor.
Despite the attention, the boys remain humble about their actions.
鈥淚 think anyone in me and Grant鈥檚 situation would want to do CPR, but if you don鈥檛 know, you can鈥檛 do it,鈥� Graham said. 鈥淭he only thing that makes me and Grant different from anyone else on the team is that we鈥檝e been trained.鈥�
In their minds, they did what anyone would have done. Teammate Toby Meier isn鈥檛 so sure. He turned to the boys in the crisis as the only ones who could help.
鈥淎 lot of people, they would be seeing me a little crazed with blood on my hands, I鈥檓 all sweaty and saying, 鈥榊ou gotta do something,鈥� they would just freeze up, be like, 鈥業 can鈥檛, I could kill him, I can鈥檛 do that.鈥� Most people would do that,鈥� Meier said. 鈥淎nybody could have been in that scenario, but I don鈥檛 think anybody could have acted in the correct way.鈥�
Now, five months from graduating, only one event in their high school careers has held a candle to their successful CPR: winning the cross country state championship in November.
Hadway and Lee coach cross country during the fall, and in the spring lead the distance runners on the track team.
鈥淗onestly, it set our goals on the state title,鈥� Graham said. 鈥淲e were kind of like, 鈥楲et鈥檚 do it for Hadway.鈥� 鈥�
Graham finished first among the Tigers and 13th overall, the top-five runners finishing within 14 seconds of each other and the team securing another state championship title for Hadway鈥檚 decorated career.
鈥淗e鈥檚 only done it 10 times,鈥� Graham joked.
In his more than 30 years coaching cross country at Ferris High School, Hadway led 15 teams to state, earning five team titles and three individual championships during that time.
This year鈥檚 team is 鈥渁 special group of guys,鈥� Hadway said, which was true before they saved his life or won state.
鈥淏eing able to come together and actually execute when it mattered the most was everything,鈥� Lee said, referring to their state victory and actions when their coach collapsed.
The boys have had eight months to reflect on the incident.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 made me more confident,鈥� Lichfield said.
He鈥檚 more tuned in to the people around him, should another emergency cross his path. It opened his eyes to a potential future career in medicine, like his father.
Graham long had an interest in medicine, the events with his coach reaffirming his interest in working as a trauma surgeon.
In the high-stress, high-stakes situation in March, the boys proved they can make decisions and quickly turn them into actions. It was a moment of self-discovery, but also in the importance of persistence despite hopelessness.
Hadway has reflected deeply on the trauma, leading him to 鈥渒ind of look at things differently,鈥� he said.
鈥淛ust enjoy life; you don鈥檛 know when your time鈥檚 up. With me, it could have been in just a split second,鈥� Hadway said. 鈥淲e get so worried about things in life. We鈥檝e just got to enjoy life.鈥�
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