Benjamin Roth was on the sidelines pre-game in Chicago when a man collapsed. Roth knew exactly what to do.
CHICAGO — Benjamin Roth hoped for two definitive wins this past Sunday when his beloved Detroit Lions faced the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. But he says there is still a lesson for all of us in the unexpected sideline battle he ultimately lost while trying his best to save another man’s life.
The Plano Fire Rescue firefighter/paramedic is somewhat legendary in his department for his devotion to the Lions. Born in Nebraska there was, and still is, no major sports team to root for. So, in his youth, he witnessed the greatness of Oklahoma State’s Barry Sanders.
“I said whatever team he gets drafted by will be my favorite team,” Roth said.
And so, 35 years later, even though he lives in Frisco, he is a season ticket holder and has seen the team play in person at least 30 times. This past Sunday he was in Chicago, his 6-year-old daughter braving ice-cold Chicago with him.
And pre-game from their field-level seats, he noticed a teenager on the sidelines wearing a UNT Mean Green hoodie. Roth’s wife is the University of North Texas Swimming & Diving coach. A conversation with the teen and his family ended with them gifting him two free passes to join them on the sidelines. That’s where Roth says everything suddenly changed.
“I hear somebody say someone just passed out behind you. And I turned around and there was this gentleman on the ground,” he said.
He threw his Detroit Lions fireman’s hat aside, started CPR, and got the Chicago Bears medical team to bring him a defibrillator, an AED.
“We shocked him and he immediately started gasping for air,” he said of the 65-year-old man who regained consciousness and was able to tell Roth his name was Wally.
“We got him loaded up and on his way to the ambulance,” Roth explained. “And he was talking to us.”
And that’s where the happy ending should have been, the one Roth’s daughter was expecting.
“During the game, she kept giving me kisses and saying how much she loved me. And she goes you saved somebody’s life. And I was like, well, hopefully, because I know how things can work.”
He learned from the man’s family that he died later that night at a Chicago-area hospital. The man’s wife texted him.
“She said thank you for saving my husband’s life. While they were doing more tests and interventions, he passed. And I just want to thank you for getting him back so we could say goodbye and laugh with him and have a real memory,” she said of the several hours they shared before his passing. “He didn’t walk out of the hospital. But he got extra hours with his family,” Roth said.
Although this story did not end the way everyone wanted, Benjamin wants all of us to learn from it, and learn CPR.
“Learning CPR, calling 911 and getting an AED can extend a life or even save it completely.”