Bystander CPR and quick response saved Patriots fan who collapsed near Gillette Stadium 10 years ago

On Sunday, there will be about 65,000 people gathered at Gillette Stadium for the New England Patriots' AFC Divisional Round playoff game against the Houston Texans.

Emergency services remain ready to respond to the crowd.

Ten years ago, those services came in handy when Bob Stanley's heart stopped.

"My cardiologist said, 'Your heart stopped. You didn’t have a heart attack, you went right to cardiac arrest,'" he said.

Stanley, the director of Dedham's parks and recreation department, was walking with friends 100 yards from Gillette Stadium when he collapsed.

"I just went down," Stanley said. "All I remember is the stories people told me."

Luckily for Stanley, Amanda Riley, a physician's assistant, was walking near him.

"I look down on the ground, and this gentleman was blue. Gray blue," Riley said.

She said Stanley was coding, which in medical terms means his heart and breathing had stopped.

Riley and another friend jumped into action.

"It just kicked in to what we need to do," she said. "Me and my friend, Veronica, just started CPR."

Bob Coughlin witnessed the entire emergency.

"Amazing he survived," Coughlin said. "He was very lucky it happened where it happened. First responders, state police, people were on him pretty much immediately."

After Riley and her friend started chest compressions, other first responders on scene were able to take over and rush Stanley to Norwood Hospital.

"I came to in the ambulance," Stanley said. "I didn't know what happened."

Two months later, the town of Foxborough recognized the team that saved Stanley's life.

"I owe 10 years of my life to these people, the staff at Gillette Stadium, the town of Foxborough, it’s been great," Stanley said.

In parting, Riley said it's important that everyone learns CPR because "it saves lives."

Stanley will be attending Sunday's game against Houston.