BOISE, Idaho — A Boise man is out of the hospital and back home after his heart stopped beating and he stopped breathing, all while he and his girlfriend were mountain biking in a remote area east of Boise.
Quick thinking and actions taken by his girlfriend most likely saved his life.
Cassi Shelly and her boyfriend, Scott Gray, were trying to mountain bike near Rocky Canyon Road, which is about 45 minutes east of Boise, last month. Because of the coronavirus, they decided to go to a more remote area to keep their social distance from others.
Gray is battling colon cancer so they were trying to be extra cautious when out adventuring, but when they got on the trail, things took a turn for the worse.
“He just kind of stopped and tipped over his bicycle,” Shelly said. “At that point, I asked if he was okay, I thought he was just joking but he was unresponsive at that point. He wasn’t breathing, his heart wasn’t beating. So, I immediately began doing CPR on him.”
Shelly is a nurse practitioner and immediately jumped into action. While she was trying to keep Gray alive, she was hoping someone would walk by and find them.
“That was the most terrifying experience, but mostly I just went into fight or flight mode,” Shelly said.
Ten minutes later, someone did.
“A kind man named Tyler came and helped me do CPR,” she said.
She added that Tyler's wife drove down the canyon to get cell service and call for help. While others also helped her do CPR for nearly an hour and a half until paramedics arrived and flew Gray to the hospital.
“I was completely shocked,” Gray said. “I mean I’ve been mountain biking since I was a little boy in those hills and I’ve never had anything like that happen to me.”
Doctors told the couple that an irregular heartbeat probably caused by one of Gray’s chemo medications likely lead to this happening.
“I appreciate every moment of my life right now,” Gray said.
The couple is now thankful and moving forward.
“I’m just grateful that there's people in the community that are helpful when they see people in trouble on the trails and I’m glad to have a girlfriend that’s trained as a nurse and knew what to do,” Gray said. “I’m happy to be alive and be there for my family and friends.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up for Gray, which you can donate to here.