Kathy Armistead will always wonder if her son Feeney would still be alive if 911 were called sooner. Now it’s her mission to ensure other families won’t ask that same question.
Feeney Armistead was a gregarious guy who loved sports and people. His family, which includes Kathy, his dad Chris and sister Lia, lived in Australia as expats for eight years when he was a kid. That’s where he developed a love of baseball and travel, interests that stayed with him into adulthood.
When Feeney was 15, the Armisteads moved back to the U.S. and settled in Atlanta, where Feeney graduated from St. Pius X Catholic High School. He attended the University of Mississippi his freshman year, then transferred to his dream school, the University of Georgia. He went on to a career as a technical writer for Google and various information technology companies, jobs that, over the years, planted him in places including New Zealand, Denver and New Orleans, before he settled in Atlanta, home of the Braves, his favorite baseball team.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Kathy Armistead
Credit: Photo courtesy of Kathy Armistead
During Feeney’s senior year in Athens, he had become addicted to opioids.
“I don’t think he realized how fast an addiction could happen,” said Kathy, 65, who lives in Atlanta. “I used cocaine in my 20s for a short time and told my kids about my experience. I wanted to warn them of the dangers. I told them that I stopped immediately when I heard about Len Bias, the basketball player who went into cardiac arrest after using cocaine. I never shied away from telling them the truth about drugs.”
On April 15, 2022, when Feeney was 33, he made a fatal decision. While hanging out with a friend, he used cocaine and went into cardiac arrest while sitting in his car. The story Kathy pieced together is that the friend who was with Feeney did not call 911 or administer CPR. When his girlfriend arrived on the scene approximately 30 minutes later, Feeney was unconscious with his head on the steering wheel. His friend was sitting on a curb. A passerby, who Kathy has never been able to identify or speak with, stopped at the scene and called 911. The emergency responders successfully shocked Feeney’s heart, but he went into cardiac arrest again in the ambulance and later was declared brain-dead at the hospital.
“The EMTs said, and the doctor who cried with me also said, that he could have made it if 911 had been called immediately, or if CPR had been administered immediately,” said Kathy. “Could my son still be alive today? I’ll never know.”
Feeney was an organ donor. His organs, eyes and skin were given to more than 150 people. Kathy said his choice to be a donor exemplifies traits Feeney maintained throughout his life, thoughtfulness and generosity.
“As I sat with him in the hospital, I held his hand and told him, ‘Your mother is going to make a great legacy for you. We’re going to talk about you and help people.’ That is our journey now,” said Kathy.
Credit: Photo courtesy of Kathy Armistead
Credit: Photo courtesy of Kathy Armistead
Kathy launched the Feeney Legacy Project on April 16, 2023, the year anniversary of her son’s death. The Armisteads wanted Feeney to be represented somewhere, so they chartered a Little Free Library in his memory at Decatur Legacy Park. Women in Feeney’s family painted it, personalizing it with references to his favorite teams as well as the nonprofit’s messages, including: Be Someone’s Second Chance, Learn CPR, Be a Life Saver.
Kathy’s greatest desire with the Feeney Legacy Project is to spread the word about Georgia’s 911 Medical Amnesty Law, which holds that the 911 caller and individual who had taken illegal substances cannot be arrested, charged or prosecuted for personal use quantities of drugs if the evidence was obtained as a result of seeking medical assistance and the caller remains at the scene with the victim. In simpler terms: Don’t leave, call 911.
“I’ve had so many teenagers tell me they had no idea about the amnesty law,” said Kathy, who has shared Feeney’s story and the law in talks with groups at the Westminster Schools — and she hopes to schedule visits with more schools. “It’s important that these kids know CPR and that, if faced with a situation like this, they have the instinct to stay and call 911.”
Credit: Photo courtesy of Kathy Armistead
Credit: Photo courtesy of Kathy Armistead
Kathy’s dream of reaching a large audience was realized in late December. Billboard company Lamar Advertising of Atlanta donated space on five metro digital billboards for two weeks to the Feeney Legacy Project.
“When I heard that our ad went live, I jumped in my car and drove up 85 North until I spotted Feeney’s face on the billboard right past Spaghetti Junction,” said Kathy. “Then I sat in a parking lot and sobbed.”
The billboards, which displayed a photo of Feeney and the messages “Be Someone’s Second Chance” and “Don’t Run Call 911,” drove more than 600 people to the Feeney Legacy Project’s website.
With the 2nd Annual Feeney’s 5k Fun Run & Virtual Run scheduled for April 13 at Decatur Legacy Park, Kathy plans to use proceeds to fund a billboard blitz.
“If by sharing my son’s story one life is saved and one family is spared the grief of loss,” she said, “Feeney’s legacy lives on.”
For more information or to register for Feeney’s 5k Fun Run & Virtual Run, visit: feeneylegacyproject.org
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