Creative Nonfiction Contest Finalist
2 Trips to the Afterlife and All I Got Was a Lousy Ruined T-Shirt
You never know what your last words may be.
As far as last words go, I can think of better things to say than, “sure, I’ll have more fries.”
I was enjoying a Saturday afternoon with my family at Red Robin: eating burgers, drinking margaritas, and — of course — feasting on an endless stream of deep-fried, well-seasoned sliced potatoes.
While my last words were asking for more fries, my last thoughts were, “wow, this drink is stronger than I realized.”
In a blink of a moment, the lights of my life turned out.
I fell over, on top of my son. Thankfully, amongst the quickly ensuing chaos, a 9–11 firefighter from New York was there to see my blue-turning body and immediately began CPR.
74 shocks later
Needless to say, I’m an advocate for AEDs in public spaces. A few jolts from this portable device (provided by mall security) was enough to sustain me until the paramedics got me to the hospital.
Once there, I remember hearing two things in between a series of 74 shocks from the paddles:
- “Ryan, we love you.”
