By MASHAUN D. SIMON and RICHARD L. ELDREDGE


The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

After addressing the attendees to his birthday celebration and cracking a few jokes, Walter E. Young waved goodbye to his friends and — reluctantly — was transported to an Atlanta area hospital.

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Brant Sanderlin, AJC Dr. Walter Young waves to his friends after finally agreeing to let family members take him to the hospital during his 75th birthday celebration.

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Brant Sanderlin, AJC Dr. Walter Young makes a joke about not needing to go to the hospital during his birthday celebration.

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Brant Sanderlin, AJC Friends and family members beg Dr. Walter Young to let rescue personal transport him to the hospital after falling ill during his birthday celebration Saturday.

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During a celebration, marking his 75th birthday, Young, the brother of former Atlanta mayor and Ambassador, Andrew Young, began experiencing chest pains. Many in attendance, including Mayor Shirley Franklin, urged the birthday man to get checked out. He initially wanted no part of it.

“We tried to talk my brother into going to the hospital and he refused us,” Andrew Young said. “He did go home and wash up and cool down.”

Andrew Young said he felt like his brother was likely suffering from dehydration.

The birthday event was being held at the Andrew and Walter Young YMCA on Campbellton Road in southwest Atlanta.

Walter Young refused to go to the hospital after an ambulance was called. At one time paramedics on the scene put him on the phone with a physician who attempted to persuade him to go based off of the heart monitor.

But he was adamant.

While on stage, Walter Young asked for his wife Sonjia and several family members to join him. When they didn’t, he quipped, “I guess they’re at the hospital.”

Eventually, the Young family won the battle, and took the honoree to the hospital to get checked out.

“The message for you tonight — you all are more important to him than life itself,” Andrew Young told the several hundred people gathered in the gym.

As he pointed to baseball icon Hank Aaron, seated with his wife Billye, Andrew Young said, “Hank Aaron will tell you — I don’t care how great of a ball player you are, if you don’t drink your water in between innings, you’ll get so dizzy you won’t be able to see the ball.”

Rev. Barbara King, Joseph Lowery, and Atlanta city council members were also on hand to enjoy a two-tiered cake and the sounds of the New Orleans Second Line Band.

Walter Young’s health scare wasn’t the only incident causing a distraction at the party. The bus carrying legendary poet Maya Angelou traveled five hours from her North Carolina home only to get stuck in the parking lot at the YMCA.

– AJC photographer Brant Sanderlin contributed to this report.