Homeless man credited with saving local father who flatlined for 28 minutes

HYANNIS, Mass. — A local father and his family are trying to repay an impossible debit to a homeless man.

George Dakin was walking down a sidewalk in Hyannis on August 7 to catch the ferry to Nantucket to meet his wife - when he suffered a major heart attack.

100 percent of his LAD artery was blocked; commonly known as a "widowmaker" heart attack.

As fate would have it, Dakin collapsed in front of the Champ Homes. The organization provides transitional housing for homeless individuals, like Austin Davis.

Davis saw Dakin go down.

"I thought he was gone," said Davis.

Davis and two staff members - Mark Adams and Linda Backus - performed CPR on Dakin until paramedics arrived.

"They shocked me four times and I still flatlined," said Dakin.

Just two weeks before Dakin collapsed, Davis and several others took a CPR class at the Champ House.

Incredibly, this was the fourth time Davis had performed CPR on a person - each time saving a life.

"All I did was pump and pray, you know. I just hoped he'd make it," said Davis.

Dakin defied odds and made it.

"I now consider August 7 my new birthday, so I'm only five months old," said Dakin.

Dakin and his family are so grateful to Davis that they secured him a fulltime job, set up a GoFundMe account for him, and raised enough money to reward him with a new car.

"It allows me freedom. I can move around and get to places I couldn't before," said Davis.

A 'thank you' to a debt the family knows they can never repay.

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