A comedian halted a comedy show in Washington after an elderly man suffered a heart attack mid-set, causing the performer to descend into tears.
Comedian Drew Lynch, known for his appearance on America’s Got Talent, had to pause his performance in Spokane last week when an 83-year-old man in the audience began having a heart attack.
The comedian shared the clip and described it as ‘one of the most powerful examples of community and human connection.’
Lynch called out to the crowd in Spokane Comedy Club in a moment of panic, ‘Oh hey, everything okay?’
The audience began calling back, ‘No,’ as people started rushing to offer help to the elderly man, later identified by Lynch as Mr. Wende.
‘Is there a medic in the house at all,’ Lynch asked, as more audience members said emergency services had been called.
Lynch looked out onto the audience with concern as a woman was heard calling out that ‘CPR started.’
Another woman offered to be the ‘second’ to the first who began performing CPR on the man.
Drew Lynch interrupted his comedy show in Spokane after an elderly man in the audience started experiencing a heart attack.
The man, identified as Mr Wende, was later visited by Lynch in the hospital with fellow comedians who finished the show for the 83-year-old man
Tensions rose as the two women aiding the man began searching for a pulse, and Lynch asked the crowd to ‘make some room.’
As paramedics arrived on scene, the man began waking up and he was lifted onto a stretcher.
‘Great job everybody,’ one crowd member called out as the room erupted with applause.
Lynch emotionally addressed the crowd after wiping tears from his eyes, and said: ‘That was incredible dude.’
‘I know we’re all here laughing and having fun,’ Lynch remarked. ‘But you guys really banded together in an amazing way. You saved that man’s life.’
‘I mean that was crazy,’ Lynch shakily continued. ‘You guys worked together so fast.’
‘That was nuts man,’ he added, as a male audience member shouted out, ‘Spokane does care.’
‘To just witness that, I mean – that was crazy,’ Lynch continued.
The comedian shared a clip of the ordeal and described it as ‘one of the most powerful examples of community and human connection’
‘He didn’t have a pulse for over five minutes. Thanks to the collective efforts of complete strangers and what seemed like a miracle, he was brought back right in front of us,’ Lynch stated.
‘I have literally the hardest job in the world now,’ he joked. ‘And that’s mostly what this is about.’
Lynch continued wiping his eyes as a woman reached forward toward the stage offering him a tissue.
‘I’m dabbing my eyes, I’m like a widow at a funeral right now,’ he joked.
‘Can you guys give a hand to the people that saved that guys life?’ he asked while choking up again.
The audience erupted into cheers and applause as everyone stood up to applaud those who helped the man.
Lynch expressed: ‘Audience members immediately started performing CPR in turns, made way for medical responders, and kept an eye on his vital signs.’
‘He didn’t have a pulse for over five minutes. Through the unified actions of strangers and what felt like a miracle, he was revived right in that very room,’ he continued, as reported by TODAY.
Lynch later visited Wende in hospital and took fellow comedians Akeem Hoyte-Charles and Rachel Aflleje to complete the show for him.
Wende had left his walker at the show, which Lynch took back to him in the hospital and signed for him
Wende had left his walker at the show, which Lynch took back to him and later signed.
‘Getting to laugh and share stories with his family for hours in the hospital was the reminder I needed of why comedy is so needed- especially in times when the world feels so torn apart,’ Lynch said.
‘HUGE thank you to the people of Spokane, the brave medical professionals, and the Wende family for bringing this man into my life and reminding me just how special community can be.’
‘In a divided world filled with hurt and uncertainty, we overlook how fragile the time is that we even get to be here. It feels like we forget that we’re all the same underneath… we’re all human. Shout out to the city of Spokane, the medical professionals, and the Wende family for bringing this beautiful man into my life and reminding me how special community is,’ Lynch wrote on Instagram.
