EDITOR'S NOTE: On Friday, Nov. 20, the Plant City Times & Observer ran a story about a mystery man who saved Carole Shepherd’s life with CPR. Carole Shepherd suffered cardiac arrest while walking with her husband. The Shepherds began a search for the man, who walked away with his dog after EMS arrived. On Dec. 4, they found him.
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She’s not breathing.
Jeff Phillips was walking on Thomas Street when he heard Tom Shepherd’s voice quavering on the phone. Tom Shepherd’s wife, Carole, was sprawled on the ground behind Bruton Memorial Library, across the street from Phillips.
It was 9:20 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 15. No one else was around.
Carole Shepherd, who had been taking her usual morning walk moments earlier, was dying.
Twenty minutes prior, Jeff Phillips, a United States Army veteran, had reached his North Daniels Street home after finishing the night shift at Tampa International Airport. In anticipation of soccer season, he changed into jogging clothes and headed out the door with his dog, Jay Paul.
There was no set route. Jay Paul always led the way. Less than three minutes later, Jeff Phillips turned the corner onto Thomas Street and saw the Shepherds.
She’s not breathing.
“That’s when instinct kicked in,” Jeff Phillips said.
Jeff Phillips ran to them and tied Jay Paul to a tree. Kneeling down, he began performing CPR compressions.
One. Two. Three.
He had been given CPR training at work — training he never thought he would use.
Four. Five. Six.
Pop.
Had he broken one of Carole Shepherd’s ribs? He kept going.
“Her lips were purple,” Jeff Phillips said. “She looked dead.”
Seven. Eight. Nine.
Jay Paul, still tied to a tree, was barking.
Ten. Eleven. Twelve.
Carole Shepherd gagged. Paramedics arrived.
Jeff Phillips stood and turned to Tom Shepherd. “Good luck, Mr. Shepherd.”
He untied Jay Paul from the tree and went home. When his wife, Felicia Phillips, unlocked the door, Jeff Phillips told her what happened. At first, she thought he was kidding.
“He’s a jokester,” Felicia Phillips said. “And sometimes, they’re not appropriate.”
But her husband’s face was flushed. The Phillips put Jay Paul in the house and rushed back toward Thomas Street, where they saw the ambulance pulling away.
“And that’s the last I’ve seen of the ambulance,” Jeff Phillips said. “I wanted to call the hospital, but I was worried I wouldn’t get any information.”
For the moment, the excitement was over for the Phillips.
But for Tom Shepherd, the nightmare was just beginning.
CAROLE, STAY WITH US
When Tom Shepherd arrived at South Florida Baptist Hospital, Carole Shepherd had already been hooked to life support.
A social worker began to tell him how to cope with his grief. Doctors told him that his wife wouldn’t survive and that, if she did, she would have brain damage.
Doctors decided that Carole Shepherd had to be airlifted to St. Joseph’s Hospital in Tampa.
As the days passed, Carole Shepherd remained unconscious.
Jeff Phillips, who hadn’t seen or heard from the Shepherds, began looking for them. He checked obituaries for three weeks but found nothing.
Then, Carole Shepherd awoke. Doctors and nurses from all floors of the hospital walked into her room to witness what the hospital had deemed a miracle.
Carole Shepherd’s doctor told her how grim her situation had been. The last time he had seen her, she had been dead.
The story of Jeff Phillips — at that time nicknamed the good samaritan by the Shepherd family — spread.
As she recovered in her hospital bed, Carole Shepherd became determined to find the man who saved her life.
One week ago, she did.
REUNITED
It was Friday, Nov. 20, when Jeff Phillips picked up a copy of the Plant City Times & Observer. The picture on the front cover caught his attention. There, holding a dog and smiling next to her husband, was Carole Shepherd.
“He made this loud noise,” Felicia Phillips recalled. “I ignored it at first.”
Jeff Phillips dashed into the living room and showed his wife the paper. Their surprise continued when they realized what the story was about: the search for the good samaritan, for Jeff Phillips.
“I couldn’t believe that (they) had wanted to find him,” Felicia Phillips said. “I had to read it like 10 times that night.”
After a month of searching, the Shepherds were finally reunited with the Phillips Friday, Dec. 4, at Veterans’ Memorial Monument Park. The Phillips brought Jeff Phillips’ mom, Susan, and grandparents, Alice and Bob Brady. Jay Paul, of course, completed the pack.
The Shepherds gave Jay Paul a bag of toys, and the families sat face to face at a picnic bench to talk about Carole Shepherd’s miracle.
“Everybody at St. Joseph’s considers you a hero,” Carole Shepherd told Jeff Phillips. “They all consider you a hero. They say, ‘This man saved your life.’”
“It makes us cry when we think about it,” Felicia Phillips said. “We’re hoping we can stay in touch with them forever.”
The families were finally able to put their stories together: Carole Shepherd’s hospital stay, Jeff Phillips’ tales of scanning obituaries, the route that Jay Paul wanted to take.
“I’m not a dog whisperer, but I really believe dogs can sense when people are in trouble,” Carole Shepherd said.
And, finally, the ultimate reality: without Jeff Phillips’ CPR, Carole Shepherd wouldn’t have lived to meet the man who saved her life.
“We’re connected, we are,” Carole Shepherd said. “Without Jeff being in my path that day, I would not be able to say that. You truly are the Good Samaritan.”
Contact Emily Topper at etopper@plantcityobserver.com.
GET CERTIFIED
The Shepherds and Phillips families hope that more people will become CPR certified, as it was Jeff Phillips’ CPR training that ultimately saved Carole Shepherd’s life. Certifications are offered throughout the year.
American Red Cross
What: Adult and Pediatric First Aid/CPR/AED
Where: 3301 W. Main St., Tampa, 33607
When: 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 27
Cost: $110
Other dates: At RedCross.org