GRANITE FALLS – Joseph Plumb gave Dale Stinson one last chance at life.
And though the story may not have a happy ending, Stinson’s family is forever grateful.
On Sunday morning, Plumb, 15, was mowing the lawn for Dale and Lori Stinson of Granite Falls.
Joseph went to the door to collect his money, and Lori Stinson, Dale’s wife, said she’d be right back.
“She came back out and said we needed to call 911 because he wasn’t breathing,” Joseph Plumb said.
A blood clot in Dale Stinson’s lung had caused his heart to stop. Lori Stinson asked Joseph if he’d done cardiopulmonary resuscitation before.
“I’ve done it a few times on dummies at Boy Scouts,” Joseph said.
He went straight to the bedroom where he found Dale Stinson, 62.
Joseph “was very, very calm, he didn’t stop to think twice,” Lori Stinson said.
Joseph is 6-foot-1, 240 pounds. He quickly lifted Stinson off the bed and onto the floor, a more stable surface for CPR.
Within a few minutes, medics arrived. The consensus at the firehouse at Granite Falls’ Fire District 17 is that Joseph kept Dale Stinson alive long enough for the medics to get him to the hospital, Lt. Eric Cole said Wednesday.
Stinson is in a coma, on life support. The doctors say he won’t recover. If it weren’t for Plumb, Stinson likely would not have made it past Sunday.
“We are eternally grateful,” said a teary-eyed Joy Roberts, Stinson’s sister.
Bob Fletcher, Joseph’s Scoutmaster at Troop 229 of Arlington, said the troop takes a first-aid course every year and periodically goes to one of the local fire departments to receive CPR training.
“I’m just as proud as can be,” Fletcher said. “This is what we call a Scoutmaster’s paycheck.”
“He’s a big boy, and very quiet, well liked, very reserved, and strong as a horse,” Fletcher said.
Joseph served for a year as a senior patrol leader, the Scoutmaster said. “Up to that point, he was the best senior patrol leader I ever had,” he said. “Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Fletcher said Joseph’s father, Joe Plumb, called him in tears after the incident, crediting him for Joseph’s Scouting training.
“I said, ‘This is Joseph, he stepped up to the plate and did what was expected,’ ” Fletcher said.
It’s uncertain exactly how long Dale Stinson’s heart had been stopped when his wife found him. Doctors told the family his brain was without blood and oxygen for too long.
The family planned to meet Friday morning to discuss whether to remove Dale from life support. That would be his wish if there’s no hope, his sister said.
But the family’s grief has not diminished their gratitude for Joseph Plumb’s efforts. Roberts said they’re planning some sort of recognition for him, “for the gift that he gave us, of Dale’s life” – for at least a few days.
Joseph and his mother visited the hospital and the Plumbs have sent a card and flowers.
“They shouldn’t be sending (flowers to) us,” Lori Stinson said, holding back tears. “We should be sending them.”
Reporter Bill Sheets: 425-339-3439 or sheets@heraldnet.com.
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