Bill Wickline still wants to travel in the RV with his wife, Louella, for a few more trips before his time is up—hopefully a long time from now. For a while, it didn’t look like he would make it.
They’ve traveled from coast to coast, past amber waves of grain in the heartland and the purple mountains majesty of the mountain states and Northwest. But they’ve never gone to Wisconsin or Minnesota, and that will hopefully be the next stop.
Wickline, 76, wants to see as much as he can with his loving wife of 54 years. But on March 26, Wickline almost saw his last earthly vision. That’s when the retired Navy Petty Officer First Class, who later worked in the air conditioning business, suffered a heart attack at the couple’s East Milton home, on a still-dark Thursday morning as he was drinking coffee before heading to HCA Florida West Hospital for an already scheduled heart procedure.
His wife was frenzied and froze. But luckily the couple’s son, William Wickline, was visiting from Tampa and was able to call 911 and talk to Santa Rosa County EOC dispatcher Haylie Penton, who talked the son, a U.S. Air Force veteran, through the steps to perform CPR.
Other emergency personnel soon showed up, including first responders from Lifeguard EMS, the Santa Rosa County Sherriff’s Office and East Milton Fire, and Wickline was transported to Florida West Hospital on North Davis Highway.
On May 5, just a handful of weeks after suffering four heart attacks on that near fatal day, Wickline, moving along with a cane, visited Florida West Hospital again to reunite with the personnel who saved his life. He was joined by his wife, Louella Wickline.
Wickline assumes everyone did a good job.
“They must have, because I’m still here,” he said. “But I don’t remember any of it.”
Louella Wickline, hugged many of the first responders, as well as Penton, who guided the couple’s son in those critical first minutes. Watching her husband collapse—he was already going in for a heart procedure—she thought the worst.
“To be honest, I didn’t see this day in our future,” she said of the patient/caregivers reunion at Florida West Hospital, where he was transported by ambulance on that very scary day. “I’m not ashamed to admit it, but I didn’t think he would make it.”
Wickline made it, stressing the need for CPR training in every home.
On May 17, Florida West Hospital, along with other hospitals in Pensacola and Gulf Breeze, will help lead the Press the Chest Community CPR event from 1 to 3 p.m. at the Pensacola Bay Center. The event is free and also includes participation from Escambia County EMS, Lifeguard Ambulance Services, Escambia County Public Safety and Santa Rosa County Public Safety.
According to the American Heart Association, immediate CPR can double and sometimes triple a person’s chance of survival after suffering an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest event.
Penton has worked as a dispatcher for more than 10 years, but most of those was as a law enforcement dispatcher. Her work now, where every call truly is a call of life and death, is “more personal,” she said.
“You want to just jump through the (phone) line and help them, but you can’t because you’re across town,” she said. “So just guide the person you’re on the phone with and use your voice and tone and make sure they feel supported and have the confidence to continue their actions.”
Wickline was transported to Florida West Hospital where he suffered more cardiac events. He received an emergency aortic valve replacement and a coronary artery bypass graft on an artery. The procedures were done by cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. Charles Raudat, who couldn’t attend the reunion because he was performing an emergency surgery.
Earlier in 2026, Florida West Hospital was named as one of the top 50 cardiovascular hospitals in the nation by Modern Healthcare and Premier Inc., the second consecutive year the hospital has received the distinction.
Wickline spent a few days in the hospital, then returned for various rehabilitation appointments.
“He went through a few days of rehab and returned home,” said Kendrick Doidge, VP of business and public relations at Florida West Hospital as he spoke to the reunion crowd in the hospital’s main lobby. “And he’s almost back to normal.”
“Almost,” Wickline muttered softly.
A few minutes later, he reflected a bit more on his near-death experience.
“I just want to thank everybody,” he said of the first responders and medical staff. “I’m just amazed, even though I don’t remember anything at all.”
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Milton man alive due to 911 operator, first responders, hospital staff
Reporting by Troy Moon, Pensacola News Journal / Pensacola News Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
