Josh Wolfram's 24th birthday nearly became his last.
The Egg Harbor Township man and a friend were in line at the McDonald's drive-thru in Atlantic City at about 3:30 Saturday morning when a car cut them off, and then started attacking the Wolfram's car, according to the police report.
Wolfram and his friend fought with the group but then got back into their car. That's when a teen came over to Wolfram's window and swung.
Wolfram thought he had just been punched in the neck just before the teen ran and the other car fled.
But when Wolfram got out of the car to talk to arriving police, he realized he was stabbed.
"I was gushing blood," Wolfram told BreakingAC from his hospital bed Tuesday.
As the officer and Wolfram's friend tried to stop the bleeding, an ambulance was called.
Exceptional Medical Transportation's Kayla Oldis and Tim Rowe were just a couple of blocks away getting ready to leave AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center when the stabbing call came in. They notified the Trauma Center and rushed to the scene.
Chris Wilson and Frank Russo, also of Exceptional, were at headquarters and headed over to back their team up.
They were able to get Wolfram to the hospital, but it wasn't looking good.
Wolfram's artery was cut and his pulse was so weak, it didn't register at first. He had lost about two-thirds of his blood.
That's when the team realized who their patient was, the son of their general manager, John Wolfram.
After 40 years working as a first-responder, Wolfram was on the other end of the call.
"Is he conscious?" the father asked.
"No."
"Does he have a pulse?"
"No."
The father rushed to the hospital, where he son was prepped for surgery.
"It is surely a different perspective on the other side," said Josh's mother, Robin Miller, who has worked for AtlantiCare for 35 years. "Praise God Josh is doing so well."
Within 12 hours of the attack, Josh Wolfram was off his breathing tube.
Dr. Ayoola Ali was the trauma surgeon and Dr. Khashayar Salartash was the vascular surgeons, noted John Wolfram, whose years on the job give him full insight into what could have been.
"If he was two blocks farther away. If the crew had not been at the hospital and alerted the Trauma Center, it would have been a completely different outcome," he told BreakingAC.
Instead, the family has watched the community rally with support of love, prayers and donations to a GoFundMe set up by Brandon Horn, who has been friends with Josh since the two first worked together in Somers Point at 17 years old.
"All my friends are great, especially Brandon. I can't thank him enough, really," Josh Wolfram said.
"Josh is the most loving and loyal friend to all his friends," his mother said, adding how when he reached out to thank people for their support, he made sure they were OK after what happened.
"He is a kind and gentle soul for sure," she added.
Now Josh Wolfram is just looking forward to going home, which he hopes will be Wednesday.
"It was a crazy experience but I pushed through it," Josh Wolfram said. "I've recovered pretty well. I'm excited to get out of the hospital soon."
A 15-year-old Atlantic City boy is charged with attempted murder and being held at the Harborfields Juvenile Detention Center. The investigation into the case continues.
