'I just jumped in and did it': It was just a round of golf, until the caddy collapsed
Those who were in the middle of it can’t exactly articulate what was going through their minds as they saved the life of their caddy in the middle of the fairway on the 12th hole of Charlotte Country Club. “It was all kind of a blur,” recalled one of the golfers, Jack Magee, who performed CPR that Sunday afternoon.
Weeks later, though, with caddy Bruce Heath alive and well and already playing a little golf after heart surgery, everyone involved is thinking clearly enough to put the moral of this story into words:
First Heath, the guy who had the heart attack: “I feel lucky and blessed to have been around people who knew what they were doing.”
Now Magee, the guy whose CPR classes at his Raleigh law firm came in handy: “It makes you think about what’s important. Life, and the fragility of it.”
It all unfolded around 2:40 p.m. Feb. 12, on the long, uphill par five, on a day that began as an upbeat foursome among friends. Rick Magee, his son, Jack, Steve Macadam and Garland Cassada had played golf before with Heath. There was a special camaraderie among them that afternoon, as there is among the players and caddies at the club. This being a golf game among friends, there were also a few small wagers.
As Rick Magee hit his second shot (“Not very well,” he confessed), Heath was standing two or three steps in front of him, a golf bag on each shoulder. Suddenly, he collapsed face first. Heath, 57, who hadn’t been feeling well that day, remembers going down. But that’s all he remembers. It took about 45 seconds for the foursome to get to Heath, figure out what had happened and spring into action. They rolled Heath onto his back, called the pro shop to bring the automated external defibrillator, instructed folks with golf carts to go find doctors playing on the course and, of course, called 911.
Jack Magee, 30, who grew up in Charlotte, had his cell phone that day. He doesn’t always take it with him when he plays golf. He called his wife, Liz, an ICU nurse, to confirm that this was likely a heart attack. Then he and Steve Macadam got busy doing CPR, taking turns because doing chest compressions is hard work. For about 10 minutes, they performed CPR until several golf-playing doctors arrived. The cardiologist in the group instructed Jack Magee to continue doing compressions until the EMTs arrived.
“I just jumped in and did it,” Magee said. “I don’t really remember what was going through my mind.”
Heath was wheeled to an ambulance for the short ride to Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center. Those who were there remember Heath telling the Magees not to worry, they were going to win the back nine.
Rick Magee remembers one EMT telling them, “You guys saved a life today.”
After undergoing heart surgery, Heath is back home, recuperating. He’s not quite ready to return to caddying at Charlotte Country Club and Quail Hollow Country Club, and driving for Uber at night. But he’s found the strength to hit a few balls, and the time to think about all the blessings that have flowed from this story: The importance of knowing CPR. The urgency of quitting smoking, as his doctors have ordered. The power of well-wishers to lift his spirits. And the fact, in his mind at least, that God surely was there that Sunday afternoon. After all, Heath has wondered aloud to himself and others, he could have been walking his dog alone late at night when his heart gave way.
And yet there he was on the 12th fairway at Charlotte Country Club, with four golfers, four friends who saved his life.
“Was the good Lord involved?” Heath asked. “No doubt about it.”
This story was originally published March 9, 2017 at 1:29 PM with the headline "'I just jumped in and did it': It was just a round of golf, until the caddy collapsed."