Resident indebted to Bedford officers for life
Terry Brady is thankful every day for Bedford patrol officers Toni Lovejoy and Jeff Pruett.
Their quick work saved his life last summer when his heart stopped beating at a gym.
Brady, 55, suffered no long-term effects from the July 31, 2014 episode and returned to work within a month.
“If it had not been for their efforts, none of this would have been possible,” Brady wrote to Police Chief Roger Gibson in an August 2014 letter thanking the department.
In a recent interview, Brady said, “I can’t say enough good about these officers.”
His wife, Elizabeth Brady, agreed.
“They knew what to do as soon as they walked into the gym,” she Brady said. “Their quick work prevented severe brain damage.”
Lovejoy said she took a cardiopulmonary resuscitation class before she became a Bedford officer six years ago, and took another CPR course after joining the department.
“Honestly, I took the course in case I ever had to answer a medical call,” Lovejoy said. “I wanted to know what to do.”
Brady collapsed in the early morning hours at 24 Hour Fitness, 2100 Plaza Parkway. A patron had started CPR, but Lovejoy and Pruett took over when they arrived.
“I started chest compressions on him, and (Pruett) took over at some point,” Lovejoy said. “We continued to do that until paramedics arrived.”
Brady was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hurst-Euless-Bedford Hospital within minutes.
Pruett , who has been a Bedford patrol officer for three years, visited Brady in the hospital a few days after the call and the two officers went together on Brady’s birthday with a greeting card and a gift card.
“I was pretty worried because I didn’t feel a pulse,” Pruett said. “I was happy to hear that he had made it so I went to visit him. He was still out of it and didn’t even know I was there.”
They were on duty together Aug. 6, 2014, and remembered it was his birthday.
“She said we should get him something and we did,” Pruett said. “We went to visit and he was alert. It was good to see him that way.”
The officers also left a note in the card saying, “We never know why lives become linked together, but we are forever grateful you will always be a part of our lives.”
The Bradys were moved.
“This shows how compassionate and caring both of these officers are,” Brady wrote to the police chief. “And what truly special and remarkable individuals they are also.
Domingo Ramirez Jr., 817-390-7763
This story was originally published July 28, 2015 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Resident indebted to Bedford officers for life."