Jim Graham collapsed two metres across the U.S. border from a massive heart attack while his wife Barbara was sitting at home in Caulfeild, blissfully unaware that her husband was clinically dead.
Jim, 67, was biking from Tsawwassen to Point Roberts on June 7 with his good friend Andy, who he has known just as long as his wife, when the chest pain hit hard. “He got five feet across the border and dropped dead,” said Barbara.
A Point Roberts border guard who had just recertified his CPR training the week prior rushed over to Jim within one minute and began trying to bring him back to life. Point Roberts firefighters and paramedics arrived shortly after and worked on Jim for 45 minutes.
Not knowing if his best friend was going to make it, Andy was instructed by a first responder at the scene to not call Jim’s wife of 47 years to tell her what happened. Instead he had to drive two hours to West Vancouver to give Barbara the bad news.
At 1:25 p.m. on Sunday, June 7, Barbara opened her front door and there was Andy, accompanied by a stranger. “Andy fell into me, saying Jim has had a heart attack,” recalls Barbara.
Then everything went blurry for her.
“Surreal. Absolutely surreal. It’s one of those moments that goes into the memory bank forever and time is frozen,” said Barbara.
The next thing she remembers is Darren putting his arm around her for comfort — Darren, a victim services volunteer with the West Vancouver Police Department, and a complete stranger to Barbara.
“He (Darren) was very solid. He was very kind. He was very supportive and started telling me things I needed to do: Get your passport, pack an overnight bag, call immediate family. All the while he was saying, ‘I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,’” recalled Barbara.
Jim was eventually stabilized and medevaced to a hospital in Bellingham. He was hooked up to 27 IV bags and five life-saving machines and his face was covered with blood when Barbara first saw Jim in the hospital. He was not expected to live.
A heart-lung bypass machine brought Jim back. Not only did he survive, but there is also no damage to his heart or brain. A true miracle, proclaims Barbara.
“We are using that word frequently in our lives now,” she says.
Jim spent just more than three weeks in the hospital recovering, including at Vancouver General Hospital where he was transferred six days after the heart attack. All the while, WVPD victim services volunteers routinely checked up on the Grahams to see if they needed assistance.
Barbara came forward with the story to express how grateful she is to Darren and to highlight an invaluable “hidden service” the WVPD provides.
“It’s such a gift of comfort that we hope no one has to know about, but when tragedy does happen and they (victim services) turn up it is such a gift. And I salute them all. And they are silent heroes,” said Barbara.
Shelley Ogilvie took over as WVPD Victim Services program manager from longtime co-ordinator Bunny Brown this past spring. Ogilvie spent 19 years working in victim services for the Edmonton police.
“I personally had a family tragedy so I just wanted to help others,” said Ogilvie, of why this line of work resonates with her.
She also spent many years helping victims of domestic crimes navigate the court system in Alberta.
In West Vancouver, Ogilvie oversees 32 victim services volunteers. At any time, two volunteers, on call for a 12-hour shift, are ready to be dispatched to a crime scene or the home of a victim. Around 90 times a year their services are required.
Ogilvie said a lot of times someone who has just suffered a tragedy appreciates talking to another person who is not emotionally attached to the situation.
Victim services volunteers can be there for their clients in many ways after the tragedy, from attending a funeral to helping with a court process.
Barbara and Jim, meanwhile, said they are overwhelmed with gratitude when they think of all the people that came together on both sides of the border to allow them many more years together.
“I am forever indebted for the unselfish support offered during a very difficult time for us, especially my wife Barbi, and I salute and thank them all,” said Jim.
