Michael Koch stood before the doctors and medical team who treated him, thanking them for a second chance he almost didn't get. Koch was one of several cardiac-arrest survivors who returned to Ascension St. Vincent Evansville Tuesday for a reunion with the medical teams who treated them, part of the hospital's recognition of World Heart Day.
The gathering, described by 14news.com as a reunion where survivors and their families reconnected with cardiologists, surgeons, nurses and other care specialists, highlighted the medical tools that helped save lives, including the Impella heart pump, which can support patients through serious heart conditions. For Koch, the day carried extra weight. Do not confuse the hospital event with the moment months earlier when his heart actually stopped.
That moment came during what should have been an ordinary afternoon walk on the Rivertown Trail in downtown Newburgh. Koch was enjoying the outing before he suffered cardiac arrest, according to tristatehomepage.com. A neighbor, Breea Osterud, found him unconscious on a sidewalk after his fall.
A Neighbor's Call, a Dispatcher's Voice
“He was not responsive and blood was coming from his face. That's when I called 911,” Osterud told the outlet.
Osterud performed CPR until paramedics arrived.
“Koch says his heart did stop on that trail and would have died had it not been for a friendly neighbor,” the tristatehomepage.com account states. He has also acknowledged he still has a long road to recovery ahead of him.
From a Walker Back to Walking
Progress has come in visible steps. Koch said that just a week and a half before the reunion he had still been using a walker, and that with help from his care teams and his family, he was fully back on his feet, according to a separate tristatehomepage.com report on the hospital reunion.
At the event, Koch offered simple gratitude to the people who kept him alive and helped him recover. “I just can't thank God enough for what He done for me. I appreciate everyone,” he said.
