On September 12, following the Michigan-Notre Dame game my family and I had a life changing experience. On the way home from the game I suffered Sudden Cardiac Arrest. As a 57 year old with a healthy lifestyle and no prior history of heart problems, this came as a shock to my family and friends.

Fortunately, due to the heroic efforts of a passerby, the Ann Arbor Fire Department, the Huron Valley Ambulance Crew, and the staffs of the University of Michigan Hospital Emergency Room and Cardiac Care Unit, along with the love and devotion of my wife and children I am here today to write this letter of thanks to all involved in my survival.

I firmly believe that it was God who put me in the hands of these very capable people and guided their actions. Obviously, the prayers offered on my behalf by my family and friends were well received by God as He performed this miracle.

After my daughter and I left the stadium, we walked to the CVS parking lot on Industrial to meet my wife for the ride home, a ride which took me almost two weeks to complete. Shortly after leaving the parking lot I suffered cardiac arrest, passing out in the car. My wife quickly made a u-turn on Eisenhower to head to the hospital while my daughter called 911. The 911 operator instructed them to pull over and get me out of the car.

At this point a Good Samaritan in one of the following cars, seeing me lying on the grass, pulled over to assist. She immediately began giving me CPR until the fire truck and ambulance arrived. The application of CPR kept blood pumping through my veins and prevented any brain damage and/or damage to any other vital organs. The woman who applied CPR was critical to the miracle of my survival.

If not for her actions, my prognosis for survival would not have been as good and if I had survived it is not known how much of me (mentally and physically) would have come back. The quick arrival and action by the fire truck crew to use the defibrillator was also vital to my recovery as was the care provided by the ambulance crew.

I returned home after two weeks in the University of Michigan Hospital and am now on the road to what looks to be a full recovery following emergency double bypass surgery. My heartfelt thanks go out to the woman that applied CPR, the quick reacting crew of the fire truck that revived me and ambulance crew that kept me alive until they got me to the emergency room and the emergency room and cardiac care teams that pulled me through the time leading up to, through and recovery from my bypass surgery on September 19.

I do not have much memory of that fateful day in September, although some memories have returned. I still don’t remember the breakfast tailgate party we had at our house before the game, being in the stadium, nor anything about the game. I now remember walking to the game after being dropped off by my wife and walking from the stadium to our agreed upon pick up point but my memory does not pick up again until I woke up in the Surgical ICU on September 20.

I do know that it was through the love and devotion of my wife and children that I survived this ordeal. My daughter from Colorado (with whom I attended the game) stayed to be with my wife, my son from Philadelphia flew out to be with us and my daughter and son-in-law in Ann Arbor found babysitters to watch my granddaughter so they could spend time with me in the hospital. My family took turns making sure someone was with me throughout and working with me during periods I was lucid prior to my awakening following the bypass surgery.

Having now had the chance to review the events of the week between my cardiac arrest and the bypass surgery, I find that it is amazing that I am still alive. Discussion with some of the cardiac doctors that were responsible for my care in the Cardiac ICU enlightened me just how touch and go my situation really was. They indicated that it was 2-3 days before they truly had an indication that I would survive and another 2-3 days before they knew how much of me would come back mentally and physically.

With a survival rate of less than 10% of those suffering cardiac arrest outside of a hospital I consider myself to have been blessed by God. The quick reaction of people around me and the tremendous care I received at UM Hospital saved not only my life but preserved my quality of life as well. As the months progress I should become better than my old self, with a stronger heart and a much better perspective on how fragile this life actually is. I thank God daily for all the people He put in place to help me survive this potentially fatal event.

Besides giving thanks, I hope this letter also serves to tell the people that step up to give lifesaving assistance, especially to strangers, are true heroes and their efforts are greatly appreciated by the victims and their families whether the efforts are successful or not. Keith E. Trost Ann Arbor