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Whitney Weaver

Staff Writer

wweaver@heartlandpublications.com

When he was younger, Jordan Miller wrote a five-sentence story about his “someone special,” and last week, Jordan saved that person’s life.

Jordan has always been close to his uncle, Tim Harless.

Framed in Tim’s house is a story Jordan wrote as a school assignment in Kindergarten or first grade. It is titled “My Someone Special” and it reads: “I like my uncle. He takes me out riding. I like to go to his house. We go ground hog hunting. We grind cane.”

On Saturday, Oct. 13, Jordan was riding in a truck with Tim on Old 421 with, when Tim suffered a heart attack.

“We were loading cabinets, and on the way back he started gasping. I thought he was joking at first because he likes to joke around a lot. When I realized he wasn’t joking, I stopped the truck,” said Jordan.

That matter-of-fact “I stopped the truck,” doesn’t capture the scene inside as his uncle lost consciousness. According to Jordan’s dad, Eric, the truck was going downhill and any sudden movement of the steering wheel could have made this medical emergency a potentially serious vehicle crash.

With a cool head, Jordan slid next to his ailing uncle and applied the brake with his left foot, slowing the truck to a controlled stop.

Luckily, Jordan’s aunt and cousin were not far behind them, and stopped to help. His cousin, Samantha Gwyn started CPR before the first responders arrived. A couple, whose names escaped Jordan’s mother, stopped to help as well.

The Deep Gap first responders were nearby and arrived quickly. Tim said that one of the first responders told someone on the scene that Tim was the first person successfully resuscitated out of 22 that they had attempted.

Tim said his heart had stopped for between two and eight minutes, and that the first responders “shocked” him three times with a defibrillator.

All of the details of the event were relayed to Tim after it occurred. “I don’t remember hardly any of Saturday or a day or two after,” said Tim. “They pretty much had me packed on ice in Boone. They had to bring my temperature up slowly over time.”

“Jordan saved my life,” said Tim. “Everything fell right the way it was supposed to. Deep Gap first responders happened to be in the area, even the traffic to Boone – everything. God had that one timed right,” he said with a smile.

Jordan’s mother, Amy Miller, said “It really was amazing. We’re lucky Tim’s still here.”

After the remarkable event, Jordan is still reluctant to be called a hero. Amy said, “People would ask me how Jordan was, and Jordan would say that he was fine and that he wished people wouldn’t worry about him.”

Tim said, “I used to be Jordan’s special person, and now he’s my special person.”