CONWAY — Michael Haynack is alive today because he experienced what he calls a “cascade of miracles.”

The first of these miracles was the presence of his long-time friend Frank Grindrod when an unexpected heart attack threatened his life. The second, and perhaps most important, was the Shutesbury resident’s knowledge of CPR and his ability to perform it on Haynack for nearly 20 minutes while rescue workers rushed to the remote, wooded scene.

On the first day of summer camp on July 29 at Earthwork Programs in Conway, Haynack, 72, was struggling to breathe just before parents arrived with their children. Haynack has taught martial arts for decades at Earthwork Camp — founded and owned by Grindrod and which draws families from Hampshire and Franklin counties and beyond — and was preparing to teach a special class to mark the 25th anniversary. As breathing became increasingly difficult, he instinctively reached for his inhaler, which had previously saved him from asthma attacks, but it brought no relief.

“I emptied the inhaler,” said Haynack, a Conway resident who formerly hails from Amherst.

“It didn’t do anything,” added Grindrod, who happened to be passing by when he heard Haynack panting in the camp hut. “It looked different, it felt different, but he didn’t know what it was.”

When Haynack’s reactivity began to wane, his face slackened and his pulse stopped, Grindrod, 54, knew it was time to intervene. Thanks to his background as a Marine and his training as a wilderness first responder, he was well versed in CPR. After the incident, other camp staff told him that he had fallen into a state of hyper-focus and was yelling at Haynack to stay alive.

Grindrod said his mantra the whole time was “You’re not done yet,” which he repeated to Haynack while pumping oxygen into his body.

“The hardest thing for me was that we’ve been friends for 20 years,” he said. “Imagine being with someone you’ve known for 20 years and seeing the life disappear from their eyes… I was terrified.”

Haynack has been involved in programming for the 22 years that Earthwork was founded. Together, he and Grindrod teach campers martial arts and how to become an inner and outer warrior. A big part of that, Grindrod says, is teaching an important fundamental lesson: “A warrior is someone who protects those who cannot protect themselves.”

At that moment, Haynack certainly couldn’t protect himself, and it was up to Grindrod to overcome the panic and become the warrior his friend needed.

CPR broke five of Haynack’s ribs, but ultimately saved his life by maintaining vital functions long enough for help to arrive. Grindrod recalled the “incredibly valuable” help of Conway Police Department’s Chris Harris, who helped him continue CPR while they placed Haynack on a stretcher and remained a calm force when he was taken to the hospital.

When Grindrod and the other concerned camp staff met Haynack’s ambulance at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, they were filled with uncertainty: They would have to wait twenty minutes to be told whether Haynack was stable, which was even harder for Grindrod than the intensive phase of resuscitation.

“Those were the hardest 20 minutes when I knew nothing,” he said.

But when he was finally able to go up to Haynack’s room, he found his friend awake and alert, answering the doctors’ questions as they ran tests to make sure he had not suffered from oxygen deprivation. At that moment, the medics explained to Grindrod that people rarely make it to the hospital in emergencies like this, and that if he had not started CPR and continued it for so long, his friend might be dead today.

“If CPR isn’t done within seconds, you can die instantly,” Haynack said. “They said it was basically a supernatural resuscitation… that he lasted as long as he did was a miracle.”

“I did my cardio workout,” Grindrod joked in response.

Haynack was able to go home Saturday after being taken to Baystate Hospital, where a defibrillator was implanted in his chest. The device is designed to protect him from future heart problems, as this scare was not his first. About nine years ago, while teaching self-defense classes for women with a friend in Nepal, Haynack was hospitalized in a similar emergency situation.

“Fortunately, the best cardiologist in the country was there for lunch,” he said.

While he received the life-saving treatment he needed, he didn’t feel nearly as comforted or supported as he did this time. With the help of Grindrod, other camp staff, and the medical professionals at both Cooley Dickinson and Baystate Medical Center, Haynack said, he felt “like he was in the arms of angels.”

Now, Haynack is in a two-month recovery period where he will be able to spend time with his friends and campers, but will be unable to do most of his usual work. Since he will be unable to work for eight weeks, Grindrod and other close friends have started a GoFundMe fundraiser to support him during this time.

Although his body needs some rest, Haynack’s kind spirit and sense of humor are fully intact. After this experience, he says he is “even more grateful” for his life and his friendship with Grindrod.

“Frank was the superhero, I was just the unconscious dead man,” he laughed.

Alexa Lewis can be reached at [email protected].