Former NFL player becomes first life saved by Central Florida’s only ECPR program

ORLANDO, Fla. — A collaborative initiative between AdventHealth and Orange County EMS is transforming cardiac care for our community, giving more patients a fighting chance at survival when every second matters.

The recently launched extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) CPR program, which integrates whole-person care and advanced cardiac protocols, has successfully saved its first cardiac arrest patient, a former NFL player, who was able to reconnect with the first responders and clinical teams who helped him survive. AdventHealth Orlando has the only ECMO CPR program in Central Florida.

“When I started hearing how close I was to death, I really [wanted] to thank everyone for saving my life,” said Lorenzo Davis, who played for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I’m truly grateful and I wish I could return the favor.”

In August 2025, Davis was at a convenience store when he suffered a cardiac arrest. Immediately, a good Samaritan began CPR until firefighters and EMS arrived to take over. From there, they alerted team members at AdventHealth Orlando and transported him to the hospital.

“Once we get the call a qualifying patient is on their way, we have a system that activates, and a team of about 20 providers is waiting, ready to start the ECMO procedure the moment the patient arrives,” said Dr. Eduardo Oliveira, executive director for critical care service for AdventHealth Central Florida. “We only have about an hour to do that procedure and revive the patient.”

“I don’t believe Mr. Davis would be here today without ECMO." - Dr. David Convissar

The ECMO procedure temporarily takes over heart and lung functions. It pumps blood out of the body, removes carbon dioxide and adds oxygen before returning it to the body. This lets the clinical team work on the patient’s heart while the ECMO machine keeps the patient alive. To qualify, a patient must be between 18-70 years old, with no terminal conditions, and be no more than 45 minutes away from AdventHealth Orlando.

“The entire process not only saved Mr. Davis’ life but also substantially preserved his brain tissue,” said Orlando Fire Deputy Chief Shannon Keesey.

“To take a man who didn’t have a pulse and get him onto the ECMO machine quickly and safely, to now see him walking around and talking and be able to give him a hug is quite a privilege,” said Dr. Laura Susi, an ER physician at AdventHealth Orlando.

She, along with the other doctors, nurses and first responders who took care of Davis said it was truly a team effort from everyone involved that saved his life.

“I don’t believe Mr. Davis would be here today without ECMO, but more importantly without the team approach to this,” said Dr. David Convissar, ECPR, ECMO director for AdventHealth. “ECMO means nothing if there’s not good chest compressions in the field, if there’s not a timely response and if there’s not a team in the emergency room that’s able to take care of him.”

AdventHealth has one of the largest ECMO programs in the country, with 32 adult beds, 10 pediatric beds, 28 adults ECMO specialists, and more than 250 specially trained team members including advanced practice providers, physicians, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists and support staff. The program gained national prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic, treating patients while significantly exceeding the national average survival rate.