A Miracle on School Street

A GoFundMe Studios Original Production

“Life is very good. Life is even better when you’ve met someone who’s died and come back to life.”

George Dakin, Jr. was waiting for a ferry when he suddenly collapsed in the parking lot. His heart was stopped for 28 minutes before doctors revived him. Later, the doctors told George’s family that the only thing keeping him alive was the nonstop CPR performed by good samaritans who saw George collapse and rushed to his side. One man continued compressions nonstop until the paramedics arrived. His name was Austin Davis. And he was homeless.

George and his wife Gerry’s daughter, Jodi, lives in Nantucket, Massachusetts. And on August 7, 2017, they decided to visit their daughter and headed to the ferry.

“I dropped my wife off at the ferry terminal, I left, and I never made it back,” says George.

After parking the car, George started walking back to the terminal to find his wife. But on the way, his chest seized and he collapsed to the ground. He was experiencing a massive heart attack.

A man named Mark Adams first rushed to his side to perform CPR, followed by a woman named Linda Backus, and then, Austin Davis ran out to help.

“I saw she was starting to fatigue,” says Austin. “So I said, ‘I’ll take over.’ I could see that he was already starting to lose color. I thought he was gone. What they teach you is that you don’t stop until the paramedics arrive, and that’s what I did.”

Meanwhile, Gerry continued to wait for George on the platform. She heard the sirens, but she had no idea that the ambulance was there to rush her husband to the hospital.

Once there, the doctors identified the problem: George had a 100% blockage of his LAD artery—otherwise known as “the Widow Maker.” His heart hadn’t been working for 28 minutes. The doctors told his wife and daughter that the only thing that kept George alive was the CPR from Mark, Linda, and Austin.

The next day as George rested from surgery, Jodi and Gerry returned to the ferry parking lot to find his helpers.

“There was a man who was looking at me that was sitting on a bench outside,” says Jodi. “I said, ‘My father had a cardiac arrest here. He’s at the hospital, but he’s still alive.’ This man burst out crying and started screaming, ‘The man’s alive, everyone! The man’s alive!’ All of these wonderful people from inside the CHAMP homes came outside, and they were all crying and hugging us.”

CHAMP Homes is an organization in Massachusetts that provides transitional housing to homeless individuals. Jodi and Gerry learned that George’s first responders, Mark and Linda, work at the facility—and Austin was one of their homeless residents.

“I remember waking up in the hospital, and they told me a homeless man gave me CPR,” says George. “I was in disbelief. The first time I met Austin, tears were flowing, and I was amazed at what a big heart he has.”

“He’s been homeless for the past two years,” says Jodi. “We were trying to give some thought as to how we could possibly pay back these lovely people, particularly Austin Davis.”

So Jodi started a GoFundMe to help Austin get back on his feet.

After sharing the story of how he saved her father’s life, Jodi was able to raise over $19,000 to help change Austin’s life for the better.

“We raised enough money that we were able to purchase him a used vehicle and insure it for the first year,” says Jodi.

Austin had already been working part-time as a maintenance worker for a hotel. With Jodi’s help, he was also able to secure that position full-time.

“It’s been kind of inspiring once I’ve got my head around that people are trying to help me from their heart because when this all happened, I did it because it was the right thing to do,” says Austin. “The Dakin family is like my new family.”

Now, George’s family hopes to raise enough money to get Austin in his own apartment. To make that happen, they continue to raise money through their GoFundMe.

“We will do our best to make sure that Austin ends up very happy and doing whatever he wants for the rest of his life,” says Gerry.

Learn how you can support Austin’s recovery from homelessness.

Special thanks to Austin, Mark, Linda, and the Dakin family.