Sad day had a silver lining




We didn’t exchange names and I’m not even sure how many of you there were, but I’ll never forget the day that our lives touched.

Feb. 5, Super Bowl Sunday, was a gorgeous day for a hike, bike ride and run, all of which we were doing in Ahmanson Ranch when my dad started to have a heart attack and I called out to you for help. For everyone who was there in the right/wrong place at the right/wrong time, words cannot describe the gratitude that my family and I feel.

Still, we want to, in some way, thank the ordinary people who became heroes, as they offered cellphones, performed CPR, ran and biked hilly miles out of their way to get help, and kept watch, all to aid two strangers in need.

We also want to express our deep appreciation for the paramedics and park service volunteers who attempted to revive my father and drove me home to the rest of my family.

Though my dad did not survive his heart attack, you all did save a life—mine. Thanks to you, I do not have to go forward with the guilt I would have had to bear had I been forced to look on helplessly as he died. Of course, losing him is still extremely painful to my family and me, but at least we know that he died doing what he loved and that everything that could have been done to help him was done.

A most sincere thank you. Jordi Baraad and family Agoura Hills



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