Good on ya, man. As others said, he was already pretty much dead, and you were there to see if you couldn’t give him one last chance. Thanks for trying.
Ditto.
Retired EMT here. You did your best in a situation where the odds were seriously against you pulling that person back. I respect how hard you tried, and respect the feelings you have now.
Give yourself a bit of a break. You did everything right.
Cartooniverse
Supes - been there, done that. My save rate is about 50%.
Good on ya for trying. You’re a hell of a good guy for making the effort.
You absolutely passed, Super Kapowzler, thank you for your service.
Curse you for making me admit this to myself.
Awesome effort, Super Kapowzler. I hope this isn’t too dark, and please don’t take it as a sign of callous disrespect for what you’ve gone through, but I couldn’t help rereading your OP in your typical “Herbert Kornfeld-esque” voice. Please don’t hold this against me–it afforded me the opportunity to laugh and cry at the same time.
I have epilepsy and I don’t know what it is about me, but I seem to attract epileptics. I mean, strangers have seizures and everyone is wringing their hands (or jumping back) and I am the only one that knows what to do. It’s weird.
Once, when I was a teacher and it was a student (not mine) and I won’t go into details, but I was really calm and doing everything I should do (which isn’t much) but making sure he was safe and on his side when gagging and not hitting his head on the tile. It lasted approx 12 minutes. When I got to the room (we heard screaming and a teacher running), he was about to ‘fall out of’ (jerk out of?) his chair. The other adult in the room was in a panic and 10 feet away from him. I don’t know what happened, but I assumed some authority and confidence and started barking orders.
I thought he was going to go into SE after a certain point and he didn’t - thankfully - but I remember thinking, “CPR steps…how will this work?” and I blanked. I was awesome and then I was scared. I had my little card that showed I’d been trained in cpr, basic, defib, etc. and I was scared. What good does a card or a class do then?
If I had not been able to function had it got worse (stupid school nurse was taking her time, too) I would have been a much bigger wreck later.
The other teachers did not respond in fear of a lawsuit.
My point?
thank you for what you did. i really hope your post encourages people to get trained in cpr and AED. and to try. because at that point, the worst thing you can do is nothing.
if that had ever happened to me, I would like to think a stranger would help. if that had been my child and my child had passed, i would be so eternally grateful to that stranger.
xo
joyann
Just back from a week away with the family.
Just tossing my support and thoughts onto the pile. Sounds like you did great, 'Powz.
Now - go see that apparently-awful* medieval stoner movie Your Highness and give us a typical Super Kapowzler review. And shit. 
*I really wanted to hear good things, but…not so much.
I’m sorry you feel horrible, but I’m proud to know (at whatever electronic remove) someone who runs towards the screaming and knocks themselves out trying to help.
I could add yet another voice to the gorgeous choir singing the song of “Be proud that you did what you could”, but I’d like to take moment for my own little solo:
I would advise against allowing yourself to wallow in despair over an event like this, though it seems you’re already coming to terms with it, which is good. At the same time, I would advise against trying to repress it or forget about it altogether. Instead, try to find the happy medium:
You looked death in the face and did not shy away. This was a unique experience which few people will have and which may help to shape you as an individual. Embrace the event and your actions as being part of who you are: a strong individual.