"I was anxious to meet my saviors," he said.
Grist suffered a heart attack and passed out while waiting at the Buckhead Marta Station. A passenger noticed him and called 911, as others notified police.
Officers David Galloway and Kenneth Monk immediately began CPR and eventually used an automated external defibrillator to jump start his heart.
"(I kept thinking), not today. not today -- not on this watch," Monk said.
Today our Officers Monk, Galloway, Minnigan, and the Good Samaritan Mr Youngs were able to meet Mr Grist, the man they saved by performing CPR and using the AED! What an Amazing experience!! WSB-TV Sophia Choi
Posted by MARTA Police Department on Friday, September 9, 2016
MARTA has 110 AED’s at stations across Atlanta and MARTA police officers train in CPR and AED use yearly.
"I’ve been a cop for 20 years, and I’ve never experienced something like this. It was very moving," Galloway said.
Monk says that training paid off with everyone working together to save Grist.
"That thing went together like mashed potatoes and gravy. It just went together, you know. Everybody just came around and did what they were supposed to get done," Monk said.
Grist, a retired professor who once worked at several Atlanta-area universities, was coming home from classes at Georgia Tech when he collapsed.
He says he doesn’t remember much, just waking up at the hospital, but he will never forget those who gave him a second chance.
"(For) the rest of my life I have to give back because I’ve been granted this," he said.
About the Author