Hi everyone, for those of you who don't know, my dad suffered a massive cardiac arrest on July 11, 2021. Thanks to at home CPR, the prompt actions of first responders, and an incredible care team in the Framingham Union Hospital Aid Association Inc ICU and Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, he came home to us with minimal lasting impacts. He beat the odds of the worst degree of heart attack, nicknamed the "widow-maker". Prior to his heart attack he did not have any symptoms. It wasn't until about 20 mins before it happened that he felt pain in his left armpit, causing us to take his blood pressure, which was normal. He was also very active and exercising, not what you would expect for a heart attack victim. Unfortunately, he is the recipient of bad genetics, as his mother passed from a massive cardiac arrest at the age of 53.
Heart disease can impact anyone and can come on from anywhere. If my dad had not been home with my family at the time of the event he would not have survived. We are strong advocators for learning CPR and for never giving up on it. He had to be revived over 4 times during his ambulance ride to the hospital and have a stent placed in the main valve of his heart, which was 95% blocked. He was then placed in a medically induced coma and put on ice cooling therapy to try and reverse potential brain damage from the lack of oxygen he had while he was down. We were told we would be lucky if he survived to make it to a long term care facility where he would be bed bound and on feeding tubes. My dad shocked the medical staff when he woke from his coma a week later and showed no signs of brain damage. He spent the remainder of the summer at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Charlestown where he had to relearn walking and motor skills, but he is now back to his usual self. My family owes everything to the education of CPR and advancing research in cardiovascular treatment. We were told if we didn't live near a cardiac trauma center specializing in cooling therapy, he would not have survived.
This year my dad and I will be walking with PwC in the annual Boston Heart Walk on October 26, 2024 to support the American Heart Association, which raises funds for cardiac research and patients. Please consider joining us or donating to the cause. This organization does such amazing things for families like mine. Thank you.