Joe Hammond was resting after a two-mile run with daughter, Erin. The 65-year-old and daughter often exercise together, but that day, as Joe changed his shoes at Erin’s home – his heart stopped.
“I saw my dad out of the corner of my eye collapse and fall to the ground. I don’t know – I instantly knew this was a worst-case scenario,” says Erin.
Time stood still as she rushed to Joe’s side. He wasn’t breathing. Erin called 911 and began performing CPR – which she’d recently learned. The dispatcher helped keep Erin calm as she pressed down on her father’s chest, one compression after the other, until help arrived.
“It felt like an eternity, but it was only a few minutes,” says Erin.
When EMTs arrived, they rushed Joe to the emergency room at UnityPoint Health® – Trinity Rock Island. Trinity’s award-winning care team stabilized Joe’s condition, then moved him to the cardiac catheterization lab (cath lab).
“I was in bad shape,” says Joe. “If my daughter had not been there to perform CPR, I wouldn’t have made it.”
The cath lab team found Joe had multiple blockages, with one causing a massive heart attack.
Joe was stabilized, evaluated, and referred to Alyas Chaudhry, MD, a cardiovascular surgeon with Cardiac Surgery Associates, S.C.
“We had every confidence in Dr. Chaudhry,” says Joe’s wife Chris, “and in the care team at Trinity. We were so happy we were able to stay nearby for Joe’s care.”
“Joe needed urgent bypass surgery to increase blood flow to his heart. His daughter performing CPR allowed him the extra time to get to the hospital for treatment,” says Dr. Chaudhry.
After a successful surgery and 10 days in the hospital, Joe was able to return home and begin recovery. Joe attended Trinity’s Pritikin Intensive Cardiac Rehabilitation program three days per week. Trinity is the only hospital system in the region and one of only a few in Illinois and Iowa that offer the Pritikin program for heart health recovery.
“We are amazed by the Trinity team,” says Chris. “Joe had amazing nurses who clearly communicated what’s happening and what’s going to happen. It gave us peace of mind.”
“I’m ready to lace up my shoes,” said Joe.
On the road to recovery, Joe is walking again with Erin. Joe says they’ve become even closer through this experience and thanks CPR training and the Trinity care team for their compassionate and supportive care.
Joe continues putting one foot in front of the other on his way to a jogger’s pace – with his daughter by his side.
“I love Erin with all my heart. She saved my life. I’m so proud of the woman she’s become. She is our world,” says Joe.
“We’ll keep walking,” says Erin. “I’m thankful he’s here to make more memories for years to come.”
Find out what UnityPoint Health – Trinity Heart Center can do for you in your heart health journey to prevent heart disease. https://www.unitypoint.org/quadcities/heart.aspx
