Mesa man reunites with good Samaritans who saved his life

A Mesa man thanked three good Samaritans on Monday for giving him a second chance at life after he had a medical emergency last month.

It was Aug. 7 at the Red Mountain Baseball Complex in Mesa when 52-year-old Dean Terry was throwing strikes and upping his batting average. “The game was a lot of fun: competitive and everything was good,” said Terry.

Then, he said he was packing up his gear at the end of the game when he told his friends he felt off.

“And I said, ‘Now I’m going to be dizzy.’ And I put my hand on the bleachers,” said Terry.

Just like that, he collapsed in the park. He had a seizure that sent him into cardiac arrest. Terry said he blacked out.

On Monday evening, he met Joe Cooper, Jake Tristan and Jason Wenzel. They’re the three good Samaritans who jumped into action to perform CPR and used an AED machine to get Terry’s heart pumping again.

“It was pretty scary. I’ve never done it before. I’ve been working for the city for 28 years and taken classes every three years for CPR, and it’s a total different thing than working on a dummy and working on a person,” said Cooper, who is a Mesa recreation employee.

Wenzel, a former firefighter, said he ran across from another field to help Terry. Wenzel helped Tristan with chest compressions.

“Honestly, there were no thoughts. I was just going to work on his chest,” said Wenzel. “When he started blinking, it was kind of a miracle.”

EMS crews said the men had taken good care of Terry before they arrived.

“It’s still surreal that he’s here, and I’m just so grateful and just blessed to be a part of that,” said Tristan.

Terry now calls the three men his angels.

“What they gave me can be as simple as a simple breath; a simple heartbeat,” said Terry.

Terry still has a long road to full recovery and hopes he’ll be back playing on the field sometime next year.

“Just like softball, one inning at a time, one inning. And just wait to see what the doctors say when and that’ll be another inning,” said Terry.

Mesa Fire and Medical Department staff said the city has about 180 AED machines in public areas in case of an emergency.