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Desert Lightning News November 2017 3
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Airman assists veteran during medical crisisFacebook.com/DesertLightningNews
Story and photo by Airman 1st Class
FRANKIE MOORE
355th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Senior Airman Keith Buckman, 923rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion technician, SPOTLIGHT
and Army veteran Mark Byrne, 57, share a handshake Oct. 2 at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Buckman
After a long day of work, Senior Airman Keith came to Byrne’s aid in the middle of the night and helped get him the medical attention he needed dur-
Buckman, 923rd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron ing a transient ischemic attack.
aerospace propulsion technician, returned to his home
to get some well-deserved rest. Later that night, at ap- ischemic attack, a stroke-like attack requiring im- I picked Byrne up from (Southern Arizona Veterans
proximately 2:30 a.m., Buckman was awakened by a mediate medical attention, which would keep him in Affairs Health Care System),†Buckman said.
phone call from his friend, Mark Byrne, a 57-year-old the hospital throughout the remainder of the morning.
Army veteran. “If it wasn’t for him, I don’t know,†Byrne said. “With-
The attack forced Byrne to leave his 89-year-old out Buckman being as professional and mature as he
“He was incoherent, and I couldn’t understand what father behind, whom he’d been taking care of for some was, that night could have gone a lot worse.â€
he was saying,†Buckman said. “He could have been time. During Byrne’s absence, Buckman stepped up
mistaken for being extremely intoxicated, but that and cared for his father that morning while he was Buckman’s swift response, calm attitude under
wasn’t like him.†in recovery. pressure, and willingness to check on a friend in the
middle of the night potentially reduced the risk of
After realizing Byrne was acting out of character, “After I made sure his dad was set, I went back to Byrne suffering from future strokes.
Buckman rushed off to make sure everything was OK. my home and prepared for work and later that day
Buckman was met with a shocking discovery after
arriving to Byrne’s motorhome in Davis-Monthan Air
Force Base’s FamCamp.
“He was hunched over the kitchen table, all swollen
and red, and drooling all over the table,†Buckman
said. “You could tell he was conscious, but not func-
tioning regularly.â€
Once Byrne realized Buckman showed up, he tried
his hardest to reach out and hand his phone over so
Buckman could talk to the security forces personnel
whom he was attempting to communicate with.
“I distinctly remember trying to call security forces
— they couldn’t understand me either,†Byrne said. “In
my mind everything was coming out clear, but appar-
ently I was slurring all of my words.â€
Buckman took the phone and calmly conveyed to the
law enforcement desk that he wasn’t exactly sure what
happened to Byrne, but he needed help immediately.
After waiting a short period of time, Buckman saw
the flashing lights of D-M’s security forces vehicles.
He realized they didn’t know the exact location of
Byrne’s motorhome, so he hastily grabbed a flashlight
and began to flag them down.
Doctors determined Byrne suffered from a transient
Chapel Services Staff Notice of claims
Catholic Publisher ..............................................................Paul Kinison It is with deepest re-
Business manager ...............................................Lisa Kinison gret we announce Tech.
Desert Dove Chapel Editor .......................................................... Deborah Leuthold Sgt. Nicolas P. Cozee of
Daily Mass: 11:30 a.m. Monday through Advertising representative ................................Sandi Bueltel the 355th Maintenance
Designer ............................................................... Emma Uribe Group, Davis-Monthan
Friday Air Force Base, Ari-
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