L14 — April 2011 — Marathon CPR Saves Life

Intro: Some say it was divine intervention. Others say it was everyone being in the right place at the right time. Whatever the reason, the man you're about to meet says he's not sure why he's alive today.

(People hugging)

By all accounts, (more hugging) all the people in this Goodhue, Minnesota, fire hall (more hugging) may not have met, (more hugs) had circumstance not brought them together.

Very few people who go through what I went through ever make it.

If you need proof, look no further than the long line of men and women filing out the door. All for one man, who by coincidence they all met, but by choice helped him survive.

Probably the most remarkable event that I've managed.

Now, to most, a photo-op in front of a big helicopter in the center of town may be a big deal, but it's small in comparison to what brought them all here.

(phone ringing — 911 call)

I came back inside and called 911.

Candace Koehn was at the counter of Don's Foods with clerk Carol Skrypek when Howard Snitzer went down.

I called 911.

Then Al showed up and took over.

Brother's Al and Roy Lodermeier run a car shop across the street. They're both first responders and were quick to help.

We ran across the street, and I could see that the gentleman was not moving.

Right away I checked for pulse and breathing.

Meanwhile, I went to get the rescue truck.

Then I said we're going to have to start CPR.

They started what would become a marathon of CPR and shocks from a defibrillator. (sound) Howard Snitzer was in cardiac arrest, a condition from which most people die before they ever make it to the hospital.

(dashboard video from police)

I came over in my squad car. I got on the radio and said, "Get Mayo One in there."

(sound from helicopter dispatch)

Soon paramedic crews from three towns joined in to help keep Howard's blood pumping. They moved him to the fire hall so they'd have more room to work.

It was a perfect storm. Everybody's doing what they need to.

A bucket brigade of hands taking turns pumping. Then lands Mayo One. A chopper with a medical flight crew from Mayo Clinic. Mary Svoboda, the nurse on board, was stunned when she entered the room.

To look up and see that it's taking a whole crew of people to keep this man alive right now. I've never seen it before like that.

That's because usually medical experts stop CPR within 45 minutes. By this time it had been going on for at least an hour. Flight paramedic Bruce Goodman told them not to stop because even though Howard was in a bad heart rhythm that could be fatal — ventricular fibrillation — their monitors showed he was getting oxygen to his brain. But they couldn't stop the bad rhythm.

The whole thing just went on and on and on.

CPR, 11 shocks with a defibrillator and doses of medication. When it looked like it wasn't going to work, Bruce called Mayo Clinic doctor Roger White.

I said "Bruce, all we can do is blast him with another big dose of an anti-arrhythmic drug."

Then one more shock.

We gave him that twelfth shock, and it worked.

Success after almost two hours of continuous resuscitation.

It blows my mind, you know. It's amazing because there was a time when there was doubt about whether I'd have a mind at all.

Howard survived. He says he's humbled by the people in this small town — Al, Roy and the others — who stopped their lives for a time in order to keep his going. Statistics show this reunion wasn't supposed to happen.

Dr. White, how are you? Oh my goodness, oh my goodness. I've been waiting for this moment. Glad to be here to provide it for you. (laughter).

But for Howard Snitzer, the statistics don't matter.

(sound — Hi, how are you?)

There had to be some sort of divine intervention of some kind.

For Medical Edge, I'm Vivien Williams.

Anchor tag:

Howard doesn't remember much about that event. The only residual effects are that his heart muscle has some damage, and he'll likely face a bypass operation in the future. He says his survival means something. He wants to be there for people, just like the people of Goodhue were there for him.

For more information, visit our website at…

STATIONS: Per the licensing agreement, please provide a link from your station's website to http://www.MayoClinic.org or voice tag "MayoClinic.org" for more information.