'A Texan now,' man thanks those who saved his life. Missouri man, in town for trade show, collapsed on bridge but was saved by passers-by.  

Drew Elam was walking from his hotel to the convention center when he collapsed on the Ann Richards Congress Avenue Bridge. Fred McGhee , an archaeologist, was driving on the bridge moments later and saw Elam on the ground. He quickly pulled over and began cardiopulmonary resuscitation until emergency responders arrived. Austin police officer Kevin Kelly also was driving in the area, pulled over and used an automated external defibrillator on Elam. Their collaborative actions saved Elam, 44, in town for a construction trade show, who was suffering a heart attack due to blockage with a blood clot in one of his arteries. 

In pajama pants and hospital-issued socks, Elam dabbed his eyes and thanked the responders and hospital staff for his second shot at life. Elam's father had died of a heart attack at 52. "This is literally my new birthday," said Elam, who flies back home to Liberty, Mo., today .

"Thank you all." When McGhee walked in the room before the news conference, Elam hugged him, and the two talked about visiting and having dinner at each other's homes. "You're my new best friend," Elam told the former Navy diver. "You are truly a lifesaver. Don't be so humble." The two began replaying the morning's events, but McGhee kept it light. "You have decent lips," McGhee quipped, as he described his efforts to give Elam mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Elam's fiancée, Danielle Stephens, a cardiac nurse, joked, "I'm glad someone agrees with me."

To help prevent brain injury, a team of intensive care doctors at University Medical Center Brackenridge cooled Elam's body down quickly for whole-body hypothermia, which results in better neurological outcomes when the heart is stopped for a time, doctors said. Then cardiologist Dr. David Hays put in two stents to open the blocked artery. Hays said Elam had "almost no residual damage."

"I just want to say thank you to the City of Austin. It's my new birthplace," Elam said. "I'm a Texan now."