An elderly man went into cardiac arrest during a Drew Lynch comedy show, leading to a swift and heroic response from the audience. The moment, captured on camera, left the US comedian visibly emotional.
At his Spokane, Washington, show, the 34-year-old America's Got Talent star paused mid-set and asked, "Oh, hey. Everything okay?"
An audience member responded, "No," as Mr Lynch asked in panic, "Is there a medic in here?"
Someone else shouted, "I'm calling 911 right now," while others could be heard shouting, "We already did."
The man, later identified by Mr Lynch as Mr Wende, had gone into cardiac arrest. Audience members immediately sprang into action, performing CPR, checking for a pulse, and calling paramedics.
After several minutes, one attendee announced that Mr Wende was "waking up." Paramedics arrived shortly after and took Mr Wende to receive medical care.
"He had no pulse for over 5 minutes. With the combined efforts of total strangers, and honestly, by what felt like a miracle that night, he was revived right there in the room," Mr Lynch wrote on Instagram. He called it the "powerful examples of community and human connection I've ever seen."
After Mr Wende was taken from the venue, Mr Lynch addressed the audience, thanking them for their efforts.
"That was incredible, dude. Like, I know we're here making jokes and doing a bunch of s**t just about the town, but you guys all really just came together in a really cool way, dude," he said, his voice shaking. "You saved that guy's life, man."
In an update later, Mr Lynch said, "I took for what felt like forever to even realise what was going on, but people in the crowd had reacted almost immediately," he said.
He described how strangers "with no identity, no ego, nothing other than just coming together" worked on Mr Wende for over five minutes, taking turns doing compressions, monitoring vitals, and calling paramedics.
"I'm getting emotional because ... I'm a comedian, but who cares?" Mr Lynch said. "I felt as a human being that I got to experience a group of people coming together to revive someone, to give back someone their life."
Following the incident, the comedian and fellow performers made sure Mr Wende could watch the rest of the show he missed.
Mr Lynch shared photos from the hospital and a message from Mr Wende's son, Nathan. Mr Nathan wrote, "Thank you to the audience members who brought my dad back, literally to life. I don't know all of your names but I hope you know how much you are appreciated."
He added, "In a world where we are so divided at times, these strangers to us at the time came together to give us the gift of more time with our dad/papa. He is doing better today. Lots of tests but hopefully on the road to recovery."
Mr Lynch said, "Sitting and laughing with Wende's family for hours in a hospital room was truly the reminder I needed for why comedy is so needed," he wrote. "In a divided world filled with hurt and uncertainty, we overlook how fragile the time is that we even get to be here."
Kayla Wende, Mr Wende's granddaughter, commented, "My family is so so so lucky to have been at your show at that time and it happen with so many people willing to help! Gave my grandpa a second chance at life."
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