Bellingham McDonald’s manager shows heroism by ignoring social distancing guidelines
In the midst of a worldwide pandemic, when the best advice is to stay socially distanced, McDonald’s assistant manager Alysha Neely said the thought of catching coronavirus never crossed her mind after she was alerted to a man lying in the parking lot of the Bellingham King Street location.
“The only thing on my mind was I couldn’t watch somebody die,” Neely told The Bellingham Herald about a March 25 event. “I’m a single mom, with a little one at home, and I simply couldn’t do that. ... If that happened to my child, I’d want somebody to step up and help them.”
And help him she did.
After being alerted that a man was down in the parking lot early on a Sunday, Neely said she rushed outside.
According to a Whatcom County Emergency Medical Service news release on the incident, the 40-year-old man was in cardiac arrest following an overdose. Another bystander administered Narcan, but there was no response.
Neely, who said she has been trained in CPR and has taken first-aid classes through the Red Cross during her 11 years working for McDonald’s, checked the man’s pulse, helped flip him on his back and began chest compression. She then began helping him breathe.
“He woke up, and he took this great, big breath,” Neely said.
A bystander called 911, and an ambulance soon arrived and took the man to St. Joseph hospital, and Neely was told he walked out of the hospital about three hours later.
“Alysha’s efforts absolutely saved his life,” paramedic Marie Bussard said in the EMS release. “We were super impressed with her heroism considering what’s happening now.”
For her heroism, Neely was honored with the Whatcom County Emergency Medical Services Gold Lifesaving Medal and recognition from McDonald’s leadership at the store location on Thursday, May 7.
“It was really sweet,” Neely said of the honors. “I didn’t expect all the recognition — all the kudos, I just didn’t expect it. I thought it was great, but it was just the right thing to do.”
This story was originally published May 9, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
