Palm Harbor Heart Attack Victim Thanks Paramedics Who Saved Life

PALM HARBOR, FL -- How do you thank someone for saving your life? Palm Harbor’s Mark Geer, 41, did it with a simple gift of cookies and brownies and a heartfelt handshake.

Geer and his girlfriend, Jennifer Agisotelis, made a surprise visit to Palm Harbor Fire Rescue Station 66 Monday, Aug. 6, to personally thank the men responsible for saving Geer's life when he had a massive heart attack last month.

When Geer collapsed in his home, paramedics credit Agisotelis for promptly beginning CPR, keeping Geer alive during the four minutes before paramedics arrived.

Nevertheless, Geer’s life hung in the balance as paramedics worked on him. During most of this time, his heart was in ventricular fibrillation, a life-threatening heart rhythm that causes a rapid, inadequate heartbeat. He had to be shocked 13 times.

The crew kept up CPR for 26 minutes before Geer’s heart converted to a rhythm with a pulse.

It was still touch-and-go when the paramedics arrived at the hospital’s emergency room. Geer was promptly intubated and hurried to the cardiac catherization lab where he went into cardiac arrest two more times.

Tests showed his left anterior descending artery was completely blocked and his right was 90 percent blocked. This type of heart attack is known as the “widow maker” because the chance of survival is so slim.

But with the help of the Palm Harbor paramedics, Geer beat the odds. Just two weeks after he collapsed, he was back home, grateful to be alive and eager to thank those who made that day possible.

Image via Palm Harbor Fire Rescue

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