Southfield Township — Sometimes dead men really do get to vote.
Ty Houston, 48, a home care registered nurse, was toiling on his absentee ballot Monday afternoon when things got strange at township offices on 13 Mile.
"I was filling out the form as were an elderly couple sitting at a nearby table," said Houston on Tuesday. "His wife, who was helping him fill out the ballot, asked him a couple of questions but he didn't respond. She screamed for help and I went over to see what I could do."
Houston laid the victim on the floor and went to work.
"He was dead," Houston said. "He had no heartbeat and he wasn't breathing. I started CPR, and after a few minutes, he revived and started breathing again. He knew his name and his wife's name."
What happened next astounded Houston and the victim's wife.
"The first question he asked was 'Did I vote?'"
Dumbfounded, the man's wife told him that whether he voted was the least of their concerns.
"She told him 'Your life is my concern,'" Houston said.
According to Houston, the man — who had a tracheotomy in his throat — gulped down a few more breaths and then told her there are only two things that are important to me: "That I love you and that I finished what I came here to do … vote."
Which he had done.
EMS personnel then took the pair to William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, but only after the couple wrapped Houston in thanks and hugs.
"It was God's divine word that I be there. Originally, I was just going skip the ballot and just go to lunch that day," Houston said.
Clerk Sharon Tischler confirmed the story Tuesday but said she didn't know the names of the couple. Houston also wasn't able to recall their names.
"It was definitely a 911 scenario," Tischler said. "It was great there was someone around to render aid."
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