Now that’s public service.
Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo saved the life of a man who lost consciousness this week after suffering a heart attack, according to reports.
Ladapo, a prominent presence in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ administration, was attending an event in Tallahassee Tuesday when he noted a nearby commotion in the Capitol courtyard, according to The Floridian.
Along with two doctors who happened to be nearby, Ladapo approached a distressed man who was slumped over in a chair.
“We laid him on the ground and we couldn’t feel a pulse,” Ladapo told the outlet.
The group then applied defibrillator pads to the man’s chest.
“We shocked him,” he said.
“I administered CPR. Fortunately he regained consciousness after we shocked him.”
The man was taken to the hospital where his condition continues to improve.
“A perfect stranger made a decision to give aid and saved my life. I believe he already has his wings,” the man, whose name has not been released, told Spectrum News 13.
“Again, I thank God for the blessing of continued life and the angel he sent me.”
The Harvard-educated native of Nigeria visited the survivor Wednesday.
“He’s a very kind man,” he said.
“Obviously he’s in a very heightened state right now. Here’s a guy who was going to die. Yesterday, chances are if no one was around, sadly he would not be on the planet today. Fortunately we were there to help him.”
The Sunshine State’s top doc told The Floridian that he still treats patients twice a month at a county hospital in order to maintain his medical prowess.
“I enjoy being a doctor,” he said.
“So that chance to be there and help out at a critical moment is very satisfying.”
Ladapo has emerged as a vocal ally of DeSantis on matters related to public health in recent years, often bucking mainstream thinking on flashpoint issues including the COVID-19 vaccine.