AfterParty Hero: The Governor Who Saved an Overdosing Woman
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AfterParty Hero: The Governor Who Saved an Overdosing Woman

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This post was originally published on May 7, 2014.

Welcome to AfterPartyHeroes, where we’ll  tell you about a person we love, either for the great things they’ve personally accomplished being sober or for doing something kick-ass and kind for addicts.

Oregon’s Finest

For our first installment we bring you Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon. Kitzhaber was being driven to dinner in Portland when he noticed someone trying to help resuscitate a possibly-overdosed woman who lay passed out on the sidewalk. Kitzhaber, a former emergency room doctor, told his driver to stop the car before jumping out and rushing to the woman’s side. He gave her CPR; after a few minutes, paramedics came and took over.

Captain Kitzhaber to the Rescue

The woman was not identified, but she was reportedly taken to the hospital; she’s expected to make it. Coolly enough, this wasn’t the first time the governor used his former medical prowess for spontaneous good. Four years back, he jumped up to help a man who was having a seizure during a gubernatorial debate. He has also “performed emergency aid a handful of times at the state Capitol,” and in 2005 he “chased down an intruder at his Portland office, trapping him in a revolving door at a nearby bank.” And to think Tom Cruise is the guy who’s always portrayed in the media as the real-life hero!

What would you have done in Kitzhaber’s shoes? And do you know anyone we should feature for their good work in AfterPartyHeroes? If so, leave a comment below!

Courtesy of oregonmildep from Salem, Oregon, United States (130801-Z-OT568-046 Uploaded by russavia) [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

To see all our AfterParty Heroes, click here.

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About Author

Laura Barcella is a documentary researcher, author, freelance writer and ghostwriter from Washington, DC. Her writing has also appeared in TIME, Marie Claire, Salon, Esquire, Elle, Refinery29, AlterNet, The Village Voice, Cosmopolitan, The Chicago Sun-Times, Time Out New York, BUST, ELLE Girl, NYLON and CNN.com. Her book credits include Know Your Rights: A Modern Kid's Guide to the American Constitution, Fight Like a Girl: 50 Feminists Who Changed the World, Popular: The Ups and Downs of Online Dating from the Most Popular Girl in New York City, Madonna & Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop and The End: 50 Apocalyptic Visions From Pop Culture That You Should Know About…Before It’s Too Late.