From left are many of Dex Kuklaw’s rescuers, Oakland County Sheriff’s Deputy Greg Marohn, Independence Township Fire Department Capt. Pat Stamper, ITFD Capt. Dave Bridgewater, and Deputy Jason Koteles, and from right, ITFD Lt. Dan White, ITFD Lt. Derek Stamper, and Neal Hoxsie. Photos by Phil Custodio

BY PHIL CUSTODIO
Clarkston News Editor
Neal Hoxsie was driving home from Ace Hardware, up M-15, when he had a choice to make.
“I see this guy on the sidewalk riding his bike,” Hoxsie said. “All of a sudden, the bike just kind of slows, does a little left pirouette, does a full circle around, and he just dumps it in the driveway.”
Expressing a mild expletive, he decided quickly.
“I’m thinking, I gotta’ go, so I turned around and came back,” said Hoxsie, sharing the story with rescuers, family and friends alongside Dex Kuklaw, who suffered a heart attack the afternoon of March 22 but lived to talk about it.

Kuklaw wouldn’t be there without Hoxsie, Independence Township firefighters, Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies and 911 operators, and emergency room nurses.
“Because of him and the EMS and police, my friend has recovered and is doing amazing,” said Barb Avery-Whiton, who helped host a thank-you luncheon on Sept. 22 at Buckshots in Independence Township.
Rescuers, family members, neighbors who helped take care of his lawn while he was recovering, and other friends filled the restaurant’s meeting room to celebrate his survival.
“Everyone was instrumental in helping Dex,” Avery-Whiton said.
That day, March 22 at about 2:15 p.m., Kuklaw was biking down Main Street towards Indian Springs Metro Park.
“It was a nice day. A beautiful day,” he remembers. “I felt fine and wanted to go out for a bike ride.”
He wasn’t on the route he intended to ride, a change he doesn’t remember making. Perhaps he felt something was wrong and knew a fire station was close.
“I don’t know how I did that, but there I was. I’m certainly blessed,” he said.
He was at about Princess Drive when he fell. Hoxsie had taken CPR classes several times, but it was still a shock to come upon Kuklaw in full cardiac arrest.
“The first thing I did was I stood over the top of him and I went, ‘you want me to call 911,’” Hoxsie said.
Kuklaw was shuddering and nonresponsive, so Hoxsie made the call.
“I’m kind of shaking now a little bit. I call 911 and I’m thinking, ‘goddam they’re slow.’ I didn’t push the send button,” he said.
When finally reached, the 911 operator asked if Kuklaw was breathing.
“I said, ‘Let me check. No, he’s really blue.’ She said, ‘sir, you need to start chest compressions. I want the phone on his chest and I want to count with you,’” Hoxsie said. “So I put the phone on your chest, dude, and I said, ‘don’t die on me,’ and I started pushing. My wife said I should have been singing ‘Staying Alive’ (as in The Office television show). I didn’t do that. I just kept pushing and pushing. Your blue face became pink and you gurgled. About that time the EMS guys started showing up and they took over.”
Kuklaw said he remembered someone reaching across his chest before blacking out. That person turned out to be a deputy, checking his head.
“They moved incredibly quickly, they were incredible,” Hoxsie said. “I stopped. But Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies, Independence Township Fire Department, and most importantly, the ER nurses, they’re the only reason Dex is still alive.”