Father of five overcomes insurmountable odds to survive cardiac arrest

July 22 was just another Monday for the Remer family. 55-year-old Dave and his wife, Cindy were enjoying their evening at home when Dave started to feel uncomfortable. He spent the early hours of the night tossing and turning and eventually, got up and moved around to see if that could help him shake the discomfort. When Dave came back to their room, Cindy noticed that Dave looked unwell. Suddenly, he collapsed face first onto the ground. Cindy immediately grabbed the phone to call 911 and performed CPR for more than 10 minutes. She credits the 911 operator for helping her stay focused on performing the lifesaving measures to her best ability.

First responders took Dave to AdventHealth Castle Rock, where the team placed a cardiac stent. Dave had a complete blockage of his heart, also known as a widow maker, which caused complete cardiac arrest. The team worked hard to help Dave but were struggling to get his heart to function and to get oxygen circulating through his body. He was airlifted to AdventHealth Porter to be placed on ECMO, which supports the function of the heart and lungs. ECMO Medical Director Dr. Alexandra Smart jumped into action, explaining to Cindy how ECMO would support Dave’s life in the ICU. “Dr. Smart explained that Dave was really ill and that it would be a long road for us,” said Cindy. “She did a great job of not freaking me out but helped to level set my expectations and process what was happening.” As Cindy was leaving for the night, Dr. Smart advised her that Dave had a 30-40% chance of making it through the night, shedding light on the severity of Dave’s state.

Dave’s life was supported by ECMO for five days, and he continued to struggle in the days after he was taken off of ECMO. He later had an Impella device implanted which helped support how his heart ventricles were pumping. Dave spent 31 days in the ICU, where he gradually regained his ability to breathe on his own along with other basic functions.

When Dave no longer needed to be under sedation, his family informed him about what had transpired. “It’s crazy surreal – when I think of someone having a heart attack, I think of them going to the hospital for a day or two,” said Dave. He has spent more than six weeks at AdventHealth Porter due to the severity of his cardiac arrest which caused some of his organs to shut down, including his kidneys which are being treated by dialysis. The team hopes his kidneys will return to normal function as he continues to recover.

After Dave graduated from the ICU, he has been gradually taken off of supporting measures to ensure he is ready to go home. “This whole event has changed my perspective quite a bit,” said Dave. “I look at life differently. I’ve made sure to tell the people in my life that are important to me, how important they are to me. Silly situations and grudges aren’t worth holding onto.”

For Cindy, this experience has reinforced the priorities that have long been a part of their family's foundation. “We have always prioritized our relationship with each other, our family, our faith, and our church community. Those have been our top priorities for decades and it has been a worthwhile way to invest our time and energy. We are very religious and before this happened, we had a strong trust in God so as this was happening, it was easy to rely on that trust and promise that God knows us and has a plan for us.”

Being at a faith-based hospital meant a lot to the two. “We were treated so well, with so much compassion, and that ties into the faith-based care here,” said Cindy. “I’ve seen so many references to Christ throughout the hospital, the scriptures and sculptures recognizes that there are so many things about the body and spirit that can be addressed scientifically but there are so many things that can’t.”

After spending nearly two months at the hospital, the team members at Porter became like family. “There are so many people here who have meant so much to us,” said Cindy. “There’s been so many nurses, doctors, and cardiologists who have been absolutely phenomenal,” said Dave. “I have a profound appreciation for nurses, they are the ones here day in and day out and really took care of me.” The couple is grateful for all the physicians who cared for Dave specializing in vascular, cardiology, nephrology, hospitalists, cardiac surgery, infectious disease, gastroenterology, and interventional radiology.

Cindy and Dave are looking forward to going home within the next week and are gearing up for how different life will be on the other side. They are parents to five beautiful children, ages nine to 28. Feeling more grateful than ever for time with their family and for a second chance at life.