QUICK ACTION SAVES LIFE OF HEART ATTACK VICTIM

JACKSON -- As Rex Limbaugh's family watches him recover from a near-fatal heart attack, it thinks about the what-ifs.

What if a family friend didn't notice Limbaugh lying on the ground?

What if that friend didn't have a phone handy to call for help?

Family members don't know the answers, but they do know a fortunate string of events saved their husband and father's life.

It was the morning of Aug. 29, a hot, muggy day, and Limbaugh, 62, was out for his daily two-mile walk. He had a history of blocked arteries and high blood pressure and decided years ago walking helped combat those problems.

The same August morning, Mark Baker, an electrical lineman for the city of Jackson, was driving to the maintenance shed for supplies. He glanced at Limbaugh walking and didn't immediately recognize him. The two had been friends for more than 20 years, ever since Baker, 42, took a job at International Shoe Co. right out of high school.

On his way back to the work site, Baker decided to take a different route than his fellow employees. He looked down Kate Street and noticed someone lying in the road.

"My first impression was that someone got drunk and passed out," Baker said. "I called the police, then I hollered over to see if he would respond. He didn't, so I bent down over him and saw who it was."

Baker went back to his truck and called the police again with the new information, then stayed by his friend's side until help arrived. He talked to Limbaugh, telling him to hang on.

When the police arrived, they began doing CPR and told Baker to keep Limbaugh's head tilted back and to keep telling him not to give up.

"He didn't want to die," Baker said. "You could tell he was giving it everything he had to stay alive. He and the police are the real heroes. I didn't do as much as people seem to think."

Limbaugh's family isn't as humble when talking about Baker -- they gush about the aid he administered. Doctors who treated Limbaugh said CPR was administered in a timely, correct fashion.

Phyllis Limbaugh said her husband's heart stopped again after the initial resuscitation and later he nearly died from internal bleeding. After a month in intensive care, he is in a regular room at Southeast Hospital and looks forward to going home. At one time, Limbaugh was covered with tubes and wires, but now he only has one feeding tube going to his stomach.

Mrs. Limbaugh and her daughter, Beverly, said they hated to think what would have happened if Baker hadn't found Limbaugh. The two also were thankful for intensive care unit nurse Karen George, who taught Mrs. Limbaugh how to do rehabilitative therapy on her husband.

The incident had a profound effect on Baker. He asked Jackson City Administrator Steve Wilson if he could become a CPR instructor for the city, and is taking steps to get his certificate.

"It made me realize that there isn't anyone on earth who shouldn't know CPR," Baker said. "I just felt so helpless through all of it."