Submitted photoPolice Lt. Kim Dyke visits Micheal Smith at the Smith home. 

THOMASVILLE — In a round-about way, money seized in drug arrests saved a Thomasville man’s life.

Michael Smith and his wife, Joy, were walking with others near the Butler-Mason YMCA in late January, when Mr. Smith blacked out.

Thomasville Police Department Lt. Kim Dyke was randomly patrolling in the nearby Remington Park area when she was flagged down.

Smith came to, told Dyke he thought he would be all right, but he did not feel good and sat down.

Smith began to fall backward. 

“I saw his eyes roll back in his head,” Dyke said.

Using a portable automated external defibrillator (AED), the officer placed pads on Smith’s chest. Heart activity was read, and Smith was shocked automatically.

Said Dyke, “If it gives a shock, it will tell us to start CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) or not start CPR.”

“He came back. He actually woke up and knocked my hand away,” the officer said.

Recalling the incident, Smith said he “felt fine.” Suddenly, the 55-year-old demonstrated with a snap of his fingers, how quickly he was struck down.

Smith’s heart had stopped. He was revived in 38 seconds.

Mrs. Smith said Archbold Memorial Hospital physicians did not find the cause of her husband’s collapse.

“He had open-heart surgery when he was 42 about 15 years ago, and it had nothing to do with that,” she said. “They said he had no blocked arteries. The places they repaired 15 years ago were not major, and they have made new paths now with new veins.”

Physicians put a defibrillator in Smith, because they were not sure why the situation occurred or if it might happen again.

The Smiths were walking with about 50 others in the weight-loss Team Lean program when Smith was stricken.

“I truly believe that God had a plan for his life and had everything and everyone in place for him. There were three registered nurses on-site who were running/walking with our group, along with an emergency medical service worker,” Mrs. Smith said. “… I am so thankful for all the people who played a part in this tragedy that turned out unbelievably awesome.” 

TPD’s 34 patrol vehicles are equipped with the AEDs, which, at about $1,200 each, were funded with money seized in drug cases, Police Chief Troy Rich said.

Dyke, he said, was “in the right place at the right time.”

A TPD officer for 10 years, Dyke, a watch commander, is one of the three highest-ranking woman officers in the agency.

“The AED saved his (Smith’s) life. Without AEDs in the cars, we can only speculate,” the chief said.

Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820