POSITIVE NEWS
The Dayton Daily News brings you uplifting human interest news every Thursday in Life.
The weather was sunny this past Father’s Day and Damon Givens of Washington Township decided to go out and mow the lawn.
“I don’t really remember pushing the lawn mower that day, but I know I went out and did the same thing I had been doing all spring and summer,” he said. “My wife (Whitney) told me I was out in the front yard.”
Givens doesn’t remember much from that day because at some point, he suffered a sudden cardiac arrest and dropped the ground.
“My son (Henry) was in the window watching me and he called my wife and told her that I was on the ground,” Givens said. “She looked out the window and saw me face down on the ground.”
Whitney found her husband unconscious, barely breathing and turning blue. She called 911.
“Paramedics walked her through CPR until they arrived,” Givens said. “They ended up taking me in the ambulance to Southview Hospital, where apparently they shocked my heart. But it snowballed into a big mess. I ended up in ICU for a week.”
At just 30 years old, Givens had suffered a cardiac arrest with no previous symptoms. His cardiologist Dr. J. Bradley Gibson of Cardiology Specialist of Dayton and Kettering Physicians Network said his presentation was “dramatic.”
“Not only did he present with a heart attack but also a cardiac arrest and he was on full life support for quite some time,” Gibson said. “He was touch and go and we did find a severe blockage and placed a stent. It is uncommon for someone his age, but we are seeing it more and more in younger people as the years go by.”
When Givens awoke nearly a week later he remembers being asked many questions about family history and basics like his address and birth date. He was shocked when his wife told him about his heart attack.
“I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I found out I had a 95 percent blockage in one of my arteries and I had never had high blood pressure or high cholesterol and no warning signs. I don’t even remember anything that happened on that day or some things about the night before.”
After a total of nine days in the hospital, Givens was discharged and referred to a neurologist and a psychologist as well as cardiac rehab.
“Fortunately, they didn’t find any issues at all with memory or speech,” Givens said.
Gibson reiterated follow up for Givens will continue to be vital to his recovery.
“He had a very weak heart when he presented,” Gibson said. “We had him evaluated for an implantable defibrillator but his heart function has improved so we will get him into rehab and continue to monitor him. He has made a dramatic recovery.”
As for Givens, he now knows that people of any age are at risk of having heart attacks.
“I guess I thought about people in their 40’s and 50’s and maybe distant relatives who had heart attacks but never about people in their 30’s,” he said. “Now I know it could happen to anyone because it happened to me.”
And when something this life changing happens, it naturally causes a change in outlook.
“I have made a full recovery and I notice no change in my physical or mental abilities,” Givens said. “I’m back to work but I prioritize my time differently these days. I value every minute I have with my family. Not just my wife and my son but also my brothers and my mom and dad and all the folks I don’t see that much. It’s easy to get complacent and take things for granted. You have to make the most of the time you have.”
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