Tim Tebow Leads Delta Flight in Prayer as Passenger Suffers Heart Attack Mid-Flight
Former NFL quarterback Tim Tebow prayed with passengers on a Delta flight after someone suffered a heart attack mid-flight. Tebow clinged to the victim's family as they cried and prayed for a miracle.
The "Home Free" host was on a Delta flight headed to Phoenix from Atlanta last week when an older man on board suffered a heart attack and fell unconscious. The Delta crew reportedly sprung into action and a physician's assistant named Nicki Freeze started administering CPR.
Several eye witness accounts on social media said fellow passengers had gathered around the family before Tebow eventually noticed something was wrong and left his seat in first class to help. The former NY Jets player offered support the best way he knew how, in prayer. In a photo posted by another passenger on board, Tebow is seen leaning over and hugging the stricken man's wife as he prayed with her and her friend.
A couple of passengers took pictures and posted them on the internet. A woman named Pamela Rainey posted a picture of Tebow on the flight looking back from first class to see what was happening.
"I sat right behind #timtebow on my @delta to #Phoenix! We had a medical emergency on the flight,"Rainey wrote. "Tim helped the family deplane with their baggage. So #compassionate!"
Delta did not released information on the passenger and Tebow has also stayed mum about the entire incident. But Facebook user and fellow passenger Richard V Gotti documented the entire event from his seat. Gotti's post has been shared nearly 20,000 times since it was published and hails Tebow a hero for his Christ like reaction to the situation.
Read his full account below:
I have to share this story! I was traveling on Delta Airlines Flight Number 1772 from Atlanta, Georgia, to Phoenix, Arizona, when there was a medical emergency on board. An older gentleman began having what appeared to be heart problems, and he went unconscious.
I watched strangers from all over the world and every ethnicity come to the help of this man for over an hour! Whether it was chest compressions, starting an IV, helping breathe life into this man, or praying, everyone helped!
I listened to shock after shock from the AED machine and still no pulse. No one gave up. I observed people praying and lifting this man up to the Lord in a way that I've never seen before. The crew of Delta Airlines were amazing. They acted in a fast and professional manner!
Then all of a sudden, I observed a guy walking down the aisle. That guy was Tim Tebow. He met with the family as they cried on his shoulder! I watched Tim pray with the entire section of the plane for this man. He made a stand for God in a difficult situation.
The plane landed in Phoenix and that was the first time they got a pulse back! Please share this with your friends! Pray for this man and his family, and also thank God that we still have people of faith who in times of difficulty look to the Lord!"
According to other social media posts documenting Tebow's involvement, he helped the family get off the plane, picked up their luggage, and went with them to the hospital.
People magazine reported that the superstar athlete waited with the family in the hospital until they got the news that the man, who was in his 60s, had died.
The outspoken Christian does not shy away from helping others. In February, Tebow told People magainzine in an interview: "Our purpose is to bring faith, hope and love to those in their darkest hour of need. And those people are everywhere. You just have to open your eyes to see them. That's where you find your purpose — helping the people who are around you. And there's not a person on Earth who can't help someone. It doesn't matter who you are of what you have. God can use anyone."