Off-Duty Nurse Saves Fan’s Life at Buffalo Bills Game
Image source: 13WHAM
At a Buffalo Bills home game earlier this month, what started as an exciting outing for Brian Dodge, 68, and his daughter Candice quickly turned into a life-or-death moment in the stands.
When Brian suddenly lost color and pulse, it was nurse Danielle Johnson’s swift CPR response that saved his life, with the help of the rallying Bills fans around them.
From Game Day to Emergency
Brian Dodge and his daughter, Candace, had been looking forward to this game for weeks. The two shared a pre-kickoff selfie under the stadium lights, an everyday snapshot now charged with deeper meaning.
Soon after kickoff, Candace sensed something was wrong. She told WKBW: “I said, ‘Dad, are you OK?’” she recalled. “He said, ‘I think I just need a break,’ but I turned around and he was not OK”
Candace described what followed: “He was going down and I just kind of got tunnel vision and held him in my hands.”
“All of a sudden, the Bills Mafia just started recognizing that something was wrong, and they were like ‘Do you need help?’ And they started screaming and yelling for help way louder than the section had to be.”
Brian’s face turned pale, and he had no pulse. In the bleachers, fans near them sounded urgent calls for help.
Enter Nurse Danielle Johnson
As chaos rippled through the section, fate intervened when Danielle Johnson, a nurse from Barneveld, NY, happened to be walking back from the restroom.
Candace explained: “She came over and she saw Dad, she recognized that he did not have a pulse, threw him down in the bleachers and immediately began chest compressions.”
Johnson recounted to WKBW: “I just told them I’m a nurse, (asked) is something wrong, and that’s when I saw the gentleman sitting there unresponsive … and just kind of falling.”
For five to ten terrifying minutes, Johnson kept working compressions while the section cleared and fell silent. Eventually, Brian’s pulse returned.
Johnson later reflected that the moment was frightening, but also the most gratifying experience of her life.
Why CPR Training Matters
Once stabilized, Brian was rushed to the stadium’s medical area and then flown to Rochester General Hospital.
Doctors discovered he had a condition affecting the heart’s natural pacemaker. He underwent surgery to receive a pacemaker and was expected to be discharged soon after.
Even in recovery, Brian’s message was clear: “Everybody should go out and learn CPR. You never know when you’re going to need it, and you never know who you’re going to save.”
Lessons for the Nursing Community
This story highlights a few truths that resonate with nurses everywhere:
- Training saves lives. Even off duty, Johnson’s clinical instincts and refusal to hesitate changed the outcome.
- CPR matters. Quick chest compressions bought Brian precious time until medics arrived.
- Family and community support count. Candace’s quick response and the crowd’s urgent calls for help created the chance for Johnson to step in.
- New bonds are forged. Johnson, Brian, and Candace now share a life-changing connection. As Johnson said, she hopes they can “meet up for lunch sometime and hit up a couple games together.”
In the stands of a football game, where cheers and rivalries usually dominate, one nurse and one daughter turned fear into action. For Brian Dodge, that meant another chance at life. And for the nursing community, it’s a powerful reminder of why every second, and every skill, matters.
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