KIRKSVILLE, MO. -- We all know that there can be risks when taking a new medicine. There are the normal side effects like headaches and stomachaches but then there’s the risk of suffering an allergic reaction. That’s exactly what happened to Kirksville resident Chris Golladay.
“I took my medication, we went to the Verizon store, they activated my phone for me and everything, everything was cool. That’s the last thing I remember. What I’ve been told by my wife is we got home, she said I was stumbling, talking kinda funny. She said I was completely gray, my lips were blue, I was foaming at the mouth, I had no heart beat, no pulse, and I wasn’t breathing. That’s when I believe she called her sister April who happens to be Bill’s wife and then in turn April called Bill. Which is a good thing because my wife was so out of it when she called 911 she gave them the wrong address,” said Chris Golladay.
“When I arrived on scene and found him in the condition that he was in I radioed to my dispatch to let them know where I was at and then the confusion started because just a minute before then she had called 911 and given them the wrong address so the emergency crews had already started towards that wrong address which was on the other side of town,” said Kirksville Police Officer Bill Puryear.
“Bill gave me CPR for almost 10 minutes. I was dead for almost 10 minutes. I have no brain damage; I have no internal organ damage. I am very, very lucky to be alive,” said Golladay. “I believe that any one of the emergency workers in this town would have done the same thing. EMT, paramedics, police officer, fireman, but I am very grateful that Bill was the one that was there.”
Reporter asks, “What would have happened if you hadn’t been there?”
“Well I can tell you from the condition that Cody was in he probably would be dead. Quite honestly I didn’t think he would make it but I knew I had to try something,” said Officer Puryear.
Officer Puryear is no stranger to saving lives. He has served almost 10 years at the Kirksville Police Department but before that he was in the Coast Guard for four years. During his time with the guard he saved a man from drowning. Despite all of his heroic actions, he says he’s just doing his job.
“I don’t consider myself a hero. I just think it’s something that any other officer would have done in the same situation. It was just an extraordinary situation to be placed in,” said Officer Puryear.
“I owe him my life and I will never be able to thank him enough,” said Golladay.
At last week's Kirksville City Council meeting Officer Puryear was given the Police Department Lifesaving Award.
Here is a link to the copy of the letter read at that meeting: letter
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