Have you ever almost died?

On April 21st of 2017, I was in my neighborhood knocking on doors and introducing myself to the neighbors. I was a 1st year realtor, trying to get my business going. Toward the end of a 4 hour day of door knocking I approached a door and rang the bell. Almost immediately felt nauseous and knew I was about to pass out.

I wake up to the sound of a lady speaking to 911. She was spelling my name to the 911 operator. I always wear my name badge when out. As I came to, she asked if I wanted an ambulance. I said, “No, I am just dehydrated”. The lovely lady was a retired RN in her late 60’s or early 70’s. She had her husband drive me the 3 blocks back home.

I began drinking water,, but passed out a couple of more times. I called my girlfriend and asked her to come over as soon as she got off work. Not wanting to fall down again, I went to my bedroom and lay down. She arrived with Gatorade and I drank part of one before throwing it back up. I passed out a few more times.

I live with my older sister who was returning from a business trip that evening. When she got home, I spoke with her about passing out multiple times that afternoon. My sister insisted that we go to the ER.

We all piled into my truck and my sister drove. I passed out again during the 2.5 mile drive to the hospital. The ER nurse got me on a table after checking me in. By this point I was feeling very hungry, having missed lunch and it was now well after 10 pm. I explained to the staff that I had passed out at least 10–12 times by then. The medical staff went into the hall to discuss my case and possible treatment. I felt the nausea again and told my sister it was starting again. She had not witnessed me passing out yet. She ran to the door and called the medical staff. When she turned around, I had flatlined.

The ER staff immediately performed CPR including shocking me with the defibrillator. When I came to, I looked at the nurse and said, “it happened again right?” She asked if this is what I had been experiencing all afternoon. I confirmed it before passing out yet again. The episodes continued for the next several hours. When they finally got me awake again, the cardiologist explained that my heart was stopping because of my Vagus nerve. They decided that the best course of action would be a pacemaker.

I crashed one more time as they moved me from the ER to ICU. I remember waking up in the hall. They explained that when a patient crashes like that, they have to stop transport and get me stable again.

I can only imagine the pain and fear that my family went through that evening. My part was pretty easy. Heart stops, pass out, CPR, and wake back up. Later on I explained to my friends that I no longer fear death, having experienced it more than 30 times in 1 day. I am now living with my pacemaker and learning to enjoy life again. I recently started running again and will run a 5k this weekend for my 57th birthday.