Three days after Christmas, Jon (who was 21 at the time),
Dan (17) and Andrew (15) went to a nearby ski resort. They were going to
be snowboarding, and getting all prepped, and ready so they could go snowboarding
again on December 31st, which was to be Jon's 22nd birthday.
My husband Rick, who is a Pastor, and I were home with the two little boys, just lounging around, and waiting till later in the afternoon, when Rick had to officiate for a funeral.
A little after noon, we received a call from Jon, who said we needed to get to the hospital right away. His phone was cutting out, because of the location of where they were. He said that they had only gone down one run, the bunny hill, and were standing in line for the ski lift, when Dan fell to the ground. He was in cardiac arrest, and he quit breathing. Dan has always been very healthy, and there are no heart problems in the family. I never thought we would receive a phone call like this—maybe a broken leg, but not that my son’s heart had stopped.
There was a man nearby, who, at first glance, thought Dan was goofing off. Then, he realized Dan was dying. He kicked off his skis and began administering CPR. He also called for someone to get an AED. They brought the AED, and it registered that Dan needed a shock. It brought Dan back, and he needed a few more CPR compressions. Dan doesn't remember waking up until he was on the ambulance, although the paramedics say he moaned while on the ground.
He was hospitalized for 5 days, during which, they ran numerous tests. Everything turned out negative. Because they don't know the reason for his sudden cardiac arrest, they put a defibrillator in. He still has more upcoming tests, and lots of doctor and cardiologist visits ahead.
The doctors and nurses kept asking Rick and I to leave the room, so they could talk to Dan alone. During these talks, they kept asking him if he took drugs, drank alcohol or energy drinks, or smoked. Dan said no. Then, they would let us back in. Now, I understand when they need to ask these questions, but it was over and over and over. The one nurse took me aside privately and said she could tell Dan had never used drugs, and she was apologetic for having to ask. So, I told them to run a drug test on Dan, so that we could put that behind us, once and for all, and then the doctors could be looking for the real reason why his heart stopped. So, they did the drug test, and found out we were right, the drug test was negative. :)
God is still using our story! The hospital PR lady tracked us down in the hospital and said she had heard about the story, and was hoping that we would grant an interview with a couple TV stations, and then we could meet Dan's rescuers. We talked it over with Dan, and prayed about it, and Dan was the one who said we should do it, and that we could give the glory to God. When we got to the board room it was packed with lots of video cameras, still cameras and lot of recording devices. It was way bigger than we had ever imagined! We gave our testimony, and each of us gave God the credit. Yes, the media did edit out a lot of what we said, but the message went out.
So many miracles took place!! First--the boys were originally going to go to a different ski resort, in the night time hours. I do not think this other resort had the AED. Second--God had Dan in the right place--we are so grateful he wasn't coming down a slope, which would have delayed medical help, or, even being on the ski lift--he would have fallen out. I shudder to think of either of these scenarios. Third--there was a man nearby who knew CPR, and overcame some obstacles (he has PTSD), and helped save our son. Shane, the man who gave Dan CPR, was not planning on going skiing, but his father talked him into taking his two girls for the first time that day. There were 7,000 people at the ski resort, and Dan collapsed right where God wanted him. Fourth--Dan collapsed right outside the window of where the AED was!! Fifth--at the time of when Dan collapsed, there was an ambulance already on its way!!! They thought an elderly man was having a heart attack, and had called for an ambulance for him, but found out he wasn't, and so diverted the ambulance for Dan--Dan was only on the ground 10 minutes till he was in the ambulance. This is amazing--if you saw how far the ambulance had to come to get to the ski resort.
The cardiac doctor stated that only 2-12% of cardiac arrest patients, outside of a hospital setting, survive. Dan is doing much better than just having survived—there are no ill effects, there could have been brain damage, etc. We believe Satan wanted to destroy Dan’s life, but God said no because of the hedge. We are so blessed!!!
My husband Rick, who is a Pastor, and I were home with the two little boys, just lounging around, and waiting till later in the afternoon, when Rick had to officiate for a funeral.
A little after noon, we received a call from Jon, who said we needed to get to the hospital right away. His phone was cutting out, because of the location of where they were. He said that they had only gone down one run, the bunny hill, and were standing in line for the ski lift, when Dan fell to the ground. He was in cardiac arrest, and he quit breathing. Dan has always been very healthy, and there are no heart problems in the family. I never thought we would receive a phone call like this—maybe a broken leg, but not that my son’s heart had stopped.
There was a man nearby, who, at first glance, thought Dan was goofing off. Then, he realized Dan was dying. He kicked off his skis and began administering CPR. He also called for someone to get an AED. They brought the AED, and it registered that Dan needed a shock. It brought Dan back, and he needed a few more CPR compressions. Dan doesn't remember waking up until he was on the ambulance, although the paramedics say he moaned while on the ground.
He was hospitalized for 5 days, during which, they ran numerous tests. Everything turned out negative. Because they don't know the reason for his sudden cardiac arrest, they put a defibrillator in. He still has more upcoming tests, and lots of doctor and cardiologist visits ahead.
The doctors and nurses kept asking Rick and I to leave the room, so they could talk to Dan alone. During these talks, they kept asking him if he took drugs, drank alcohol or energy drinks, or smoked. Dan said no. Then, they would let us back in. Now, I understand when they need to ask these questions, but it was over and over and over. The one nurse took me aside privately and said she could tell Dan had never used drugs, and she was apologetic for having to ask. So, I told them to run a drug test on Dan, so that we could put that behind us, once and for all, and then the doctors could be looking for the real reason why his heart stopped. So, they did the drug test, and found out we were right, the drug test was negative. :)
God is still using our story! The hospital PR lady tracked us down in the hospital and said she had heard about the story, and was hoping that we would grant an interview with a couple TV stations, and then we could meet Dan's rescuers. We talked it over with Dan, and prayed about it, and Dan was the one who said we should do it, and that we could give the glory to God. When we got to the board room it was packed with lots of video cameras, still cameras and lot of recording devices. It was way bigger than we had ever imagined! We gave our testimony, and each of us gave God the credit. Yes, the media did edit out a lot of what we said, but the message went out.
So many miracles took place!! First--the boys were originally going to go to a different ski resort, in the night time hours. I do not think this other resort had the AED. Second--God had Dan in the right place--we are so grateful he wasn't coming down a slope, which would have delayed medical help, or, even being on the ski lift--he would have fallen out. I shudder to think of either of these scenarios. Third--there was a man nearby who knew CPR, and overcame some obstacles (he has PTSD), and helped save our son. Shane, the man who gave Dan CPR, was not planning on going skiing, but his father talked him into taking his two girls for the first time that day. There were 7,000 people at the ski resort, and Dan collapsed right where God wanted him. Fourth--Dan collapsed right outside the window of where the AED was!! Fifth--at the time of when Dan collapsed, there was an ambulance already on its way!!! They thought an elderly man was having a heart attack, and had called for an ambulance for him, but found out he wasn't, and so diverted the ambulance for Dan--Dan was only on the ground 10 minutes till he was in the ambulance. This is amazing--if you saw how far the ambulance had to come to get to the ski resort.
The cardiac doctor stated that only 2-12% of cardiac arrest patients, outside of a hospital setting, survive. Dan is doing much better than just having survived—there are no ill effects, there could have been brain damage, etc. We believe Satan wanted to destroy Dan’s life, but God said no because of the hedge. We are so blessed!!!
We have
found this to be an incredible witnessing opportunity because none of us are
guaranteed another year, another week, another breath. This moment might be the last we have. Dan was always very healthy, as a young
child, and as a young man. That is why this news is so shocking. So
many people may say--"Let me live my life, and when I'm older, or more
set, or _____, THEN I will give my heart to the Lord." In Dan's
case, he had NO warning--no feeling of weakness, no sense that he was going to
collapse. Dan almost died that day, but, he was revived--by God having
special people in just the right place.
Dan with his rescuers
Dan in hospital, right before he receives the defibrillator/pace maker
Blessings!
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