Pharmacist Credited with Saving Man's Life

A pharmacist’s calm yet swift response in an emergency situation helped save a man’s life.

Sharon Hundley had walked into Banks Pharmacy in Banks, Oregon, to pick up some medication for her husband, Bill, who was waiting in the car.

When Sharon returned to the car, she discovered that Bill was unresponsive and believed he was dead, The Columbian reported.

She ran back into the pharmacy and asked for help from pharmacist Phil Darrah, who told her to call 911 while he performed CPR on Bill.

Darrah described himself as “not one who gets excited easily,” but in Sharon’s eyes, he quickly responded—almost leaping over the counter when he heard she needed help.

^{(Dillon Pilorget/AP)}

The pharmacist performed chest compressions on Bill, who eventually regained a pulse and began taking shallow breaths.

All the while, Sharon prepared herself for the worst and had already told 6 of their 11 children that Bill had died.

When the emergency team arrived, Darrah told them, “It’s your turn,” and then returned to work.

Sharon called the pharmacist a hero, but Darrah said he was just doing his job. He was taught CPR as part of vaccine administration training, and he told The Columbian that he thinks anyone else with the same skills would have acted in the same way.

“I just did my job. I did what I was trained to do,” he said.