Moment of Gratitude
CRANBERRY TWP — When Brian Dillemuth collapsed at a gym last summer, there was a thin line between his being saved or his story being a tragedy.
Luckily, teamwork — from the trainer beginning CPR and police and EMTs arriving quickly, to the care he received in the hospital — made Dillemuth's story one of the rare instances of somebody surviving a heart attack that occurred outside a hospital.
The 41-year-old returned to Cranberry Township Emergency Medical Services Friday to meet and thank the first responders who helped save his life.
Dillemuth was getting ready to work out at FutbolerFit on July 12 when he collapsed. The trainer began CPR and continued with compressions until first responders arrived at the Cranberry gym.Dillemuth said the list of possible causes for his cardiac event are small. He noted he receives frequent physicals and blood work, goes to the gym regularly and takes care of himself.“It was totally unexpected,” he said. “I had no idea it was going to happen. I'm just lucky it happened where it did, where people were able to save me.”Mandy Cousins, outreach coordinator for Cranberry EMS, said Dillemuth's story is a reminder that heart attacks can happen anywhere to anyone.“He's not what you'd picture to be the person who would have the issue,” she said. “It's a good lesson that anybody could have a problem at any point in time.”After medics arrived, Dillemuth doesn't remember the next four days. When he woke up, he was in an intensive care unit in hospital. There, he learned, doctors had placed a stent via a catheter.“I didn't feel bad,” he said of waking up in the hospital. “It was more of a shock.”
Dillemuth was released from the hospital five days after he suffered his heart attack and took a few weeks off from the gym.“It hasn't stopped me,” he said. “I was back in the gym three weeks after the event, and continued going until it was shut down for COVID-19.”He said he's OK with that because his cardiologist said he can work out, but noted that may not be the case for everyone.Although his gym habit hadn't changed, Dillemuth noted he has made some changes in his life.“I reprioritized things in my life — what's important, what's not important and not to take anything for granted,” he said.
Cranberry EMS originally planned to touch base with Dillemuth in November, but Dillemuth said he had been on a hunting trip out west.“I didn't want to do it virtually; I wanted to meet all the people in person,” he said. “It was important for them to meet up and see somebody who survived this type of incident, and I think it was also important for me to face it.”Cousins said the ability of bystanders to step in and help — mainly the trainer starting chest compressions and somebody calling 911 — helped Dillemuth survive.“The reason he is here is because of teamwork,” Cousins said. “If the employee at the gym hadn't started CPR, he might not be here today; if EMS and police didn't get there as soon as they did, he may not be here. If he didn't get care at the hospital, he would not be here today.“If any part of that had fallen through, his story would have been a tragedy and not a success.”She added that she hadn't met a single person resuscitated after having a cardiac event in her first decade of being an EMT, and her time in Cranberry has been a complete 180-degree turn from that. She noted Cranberry EMS emphasizes the importance of bystanders knowing CPR.In fact, the ambulance nonprofit holds an event each year called “Save a Life Saturday,” during which cardiac arrest survivors meet the bystanders and professionals who saved their life, and the agency teaches the basics of CPR and other life-saving skills.Dillemuth agreed CPR training is important and is thankful for the aid he received.“I was told if (the trainer) didn't start CPR right away, I could've had brain damage and things like that,” Dillemuth said. “It's important for people to be trained and act quickly.”
