For more than three decades, Shelley Herber, respiratory neonatal intensive care specialist at Parkview Regional Medical Center (PRMC), and Tamyra (“Tamy”) McKillip, respiratory care practitioner in Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation at PRMC, have shared a close friendship both inside and outside of work.
One of their favorite traditions is attending the three-day Hippie Magic festival at Buck Lake Ranch in Angola, Indiana. This September marked Tamy’s sixth year at the event and Shelley’s fifth. Each year, they camp in the same spot atop a hill overlooking the “bowl,” where festivalgoers gather to enjoy tribute bands playing music from the 1960s and 1970s, browse artisan vendors and sample a variety of food offerings.
It was a beautiful evening, and the festival was in full swing. Shelley and Tamy were relaxing at their campsite, enjoying the music from the hilltop, when the performance suddenly stopped. An announcement came over the loudspeaker that someone in the bowl needed medical attention.
Without hesitation, Shelley and Tamy quickly made their way down the hill. As they approached the crowd, Tamy spotted a man slumped in a chair and immediately broke into a run. He was unresponsive, was not breathing and had no pulse.
Drawing on years of experience working side by side, Shelley and Tamy instinctively shifted into professional mode. Together, they began performing CPR with the seamless coordination that comes from countless hours caring for patients as a team. Though they were far from the hospital, their focus never wavered.
As they worked, others stepped in to help by calling 911, clearing a path for first responders and managing the crowd. Shelley and Tamy continued alternating chest compressions and maintaining the patient’s airway to ensure oxygen could reach his lungs and vital organs. Two county police officers soon arrived and assisted with compressions while using a resuscitation bag to provide ventilations.
By the time emergency medical personnel arrived, the patient had begun breathing and moving again. He was transported to PRMC for further care.
Later, Shelley and Tamy learned the patient’s name was Bob. He and his wife, Carol, had traveled two hours from Michigan to attend Hippie Magic, and his sudden medical emergency came as a complete shock.
Carol, understandably overwhelmed in the moment, did not know the names of the two women who had rushed to save her husband's life. That changed when Shelley and Tamy visited Bob during one of their shifts at PRMC. The reunion was emotional and heartfelt. Bob and Carol expressed their deep gratitude to the pair, who were later celebrated as the “Angels of Hippie Magic” in a Buck Lake Ranch Facebook post recognizing their lifesaving actions and the efforts of everyone who helped during the emergency.
Looking back, Shelley and Tamy were grateful to be in the right place at the right time, and they were overjoyed to see that Bob was making a full recovery.
