Sandy Conrad will never forget the Sunday afternoon last year when she found her husband of almost 50 years, Paul, unconscious and taking his last breaths on top of their bed.
If it had not been for St. Boniface Hospital donors, his life might have ended then and there.
Only 15 minutes before she found Paul, he had driven them home from church. He parked their car and went upstairs to change out of his suit and tie. Sandy then heard a sound she can only describe as a yelp, like a dog in distress.
Sandy heard it again.
She thought, “That’s coming from our bedroom.”
She ran upstairs. Paul had no pulse. He was turning blue. She could not rouse him. She immediately called 911.
The operator on the phone told her she had to lower Paul to the bedroom floor and perform CPR until the paramedics arrived.
Sandy had no training and no experience in CPR. Her first thought was, “Oh, God, help me!” Thankfully, the 911 operator talked her through the compressions, pushing hard on Paul’s chest and counting. It was the longest 10 minutes of Sandy’s life.
Many people do not know this, but CPR is hard work. While Sandy will say she is no athlete, she felt an incredible strength as she did the compressions.
“It felt like the power of God was doing them through me,” she said. That Paul survived that day is something she says was nothing short of a true miracle.
Code Blue, cardiac arrest
The paramedics arrived quickly and took over. Sandy felt surprisingly calm. She knew Paul would be well cared for, no matter what was to come.
Paul still had no pulse. He was in Code Blue, cardiac arrest. The paramedics shocked him once with the defibrillator, then twice. Finally, his heart started beating again and Paul was stable.
They loaded him into the ambulance, only to have to shock him a third time before they left for St. Boniface Hospital, with Sandy in the front seat. She knew he was on the cusp of life and death.
The moment they arrived at St. Boniface Hospital’s Emergency Department; Paul’s dedicated care team was there waiting for him.
“I thank God that the right people were in place at the right time, to give them the best shot at saving his life. That was comforting in itself,” said Sandy.
Sandy and their adult children learned that Paul’s left main coronary artery was 100% blocked, which had caused his cardiac arrest. He had no prior symptoms, no warnings.
About two hours after Paul came to St. B, he went into emergency surgery, where they put three stents into his left artery. Sandy knew we had the best possible medical team on their side.
Paul’s doctors placed him in a medically induced coma after his cardiac surgery. For three days, Sandy and their children waited and watched to see if he would have brain damage.
“Our hope was buoyed after two leading-edge CT scans showed that his brain was in decent shape and still viable,” she explained. “Donor support made diagnostic tools like this and other life-saving medical equipment possible at St. B.”
More work to do
The care team at St. B. brought him out of the coma slowly. On Wednesday, Paul woke up for the first time since Sandy had found him on the bed. She was overwhelmed with gratefulness – at all the support from Foundation donors, the excellent care he had received at St. Boniface Hospital, and the answers to their prayers. It wasn’t Paul’s time yet.
When Paul could speak again, the first thing he said to her was, “God wasn’t finished with me down here yet. I’ve got more work to do.”
Paul and Sandy will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary in August of 2024.
“For 50 years, we have had a wonderful life together. Paul is my best friend, and you just don’t take that for granted. He and I protect each other’s hearts, literally and figuratively,” said Sandy.
Support St. Boniface Hospital’s Emergency Department redevelopment and expansion. Give today.