The expression, “Some heroes don’t wear capes” is no more evident for some Greene County residents at an Iowa State University football game this season.

J.J. Hoyle and his wife were enjoying the Cyclone homecoming game on October 25th against Brigham Young University from their endzone season ticket seats when Hoyle says a guy came down from his seat a few rows above him needing help for his friend. Hoyle tells Raccoon Valley Radio that he and another woman, who is also a nurse from Greene County, found the victim, who was sitting and unresponsive and had a weak pulse.

Hoyle mentions that after the victim was laid down between the tight seating in the bleachers, the nurse started chest compressions and he supported the victim’s head and neck. He then assumed the role of managing the situation and signaled the Iowa State Patrol working the game to bring an Automatic External Defibrillator (AED) that was used to shock the victim a couple of times, but each time following, Hoyle couldn’t feel a pulse.

Hoyle says another man was able to jump in and help with chest compressions until paramedics arrived with an automatic compression machine. He notes when another paramedic team arrived, they were going to intubate the victim, but Hoyle stopped them because he noticed the victim had dentures, which was blocking the airway. After intubating the victim, Hoyle states they shocked him another time and finally got a pulse before taking the guy to Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames.

Hoyle explains that the physician who saw the victim at Mary Greeley later came to the same game to thank him and the others who helped because they were able to stabilize the victim before transporting him by air ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines where he ultimately survived. Hoyle describes what was going through his mind before and after meeting with the doctor.

“I had about a 20 percent, in my mind, that he would survive. I mean, we had been performing CPR for quite a while, and also his friend didn’t come get help immediately because he didn’t notice that anything was wrong. So, you know, you just don’t know how long, you don’t know the timing. So, you kind of almost always prepare yourself for the worst news and when the doctor showed up and told us that he had made it, that was pretty awesome.” 

A veteran with the fire and rescue units since he was 18 years old, Hoyle shares his thoughts of what he was feeling when he initially reacted to the situation and for the entire 10-12 minutes they spent until the victim was taken to the Ames hospital.

“Just your training, just knowing what to do and doing it as quickly as you can. I mean I’ve done it so many times unfortunately, that you just go into a mode where you just know what you have to do and make sure that it gets done.”

Hoyle adds that at the next ISU home game, an Army Colonel that sits next to him presented Hoyle with a Challenge Coin, which is given to people that perform above and beyond in extraordinary situations, which he continues to carry with him.