'You Were Dead': Bolingbrook Man Tells Story of His Cardiac Arrest during Chicago Marathon

Bolingbrook man Richard Sikorski, 66, remembers the moment he didn’t feel quite right during this year’s Chicago Marathon. “My legs could not go any farther. My lungs needed air. I knew I had to lie down and get on my back.”

And then, he lost consciousness.

What came next and how close he was to dying, he would learn after he awoke. But in the moments that Sikorski suffered cardiac arrest and needed help, runners near him leapt into action, performing CPR until paramedics could arrive. Sikorksi later underwent a quintuple bypass.

His daughter Anna, grateful for those runners who did so much for her father, turned to social media to find them. Her post was spread across the running world, and soon with the help of the marathon organizers her hero will meet those he calls his very own.

In the meantime, Sikorski asked Anna to share his story, in his own words. Here it is.

Date with the Angels on the Seventh Mile

I did not plan on running the Chicago Marathon this year. Life had gotten a little busy and I did not have time to train. I decided to go to the Expo at the McCormick Place just to pick up my bib and t-shirt. The ambiance was great. I looked around and saw people taking pictures and talking about only one thing, tomorrow’s race. The excitement took over. I called my wife and told her to change what we were having for dinner. I needed pasta. I needed to carbo-load. Last year, I did not run the marathon. Missing it again this year was not an option. I had to do it.

I started Sunday very excited and with good spirits. I told myself to go slow, at a twelve minute pace, to just keep moving. The time did not matter, I just wanted to finish and get my medal. That was my plan. I was doing great, nothing was wrong. I did the first 5K, then the first 10K.

What happened next was very unexpected. I remember exactly how I felt before I lost consciousness. My legs could not go any farther. My lungs needed air. I knew I had to lie down and get on my back. It all happened in a fraction of a second and suddenly I blacked out. The next thing I remember was someone carrying me to the ambulance and later yelling, “Stay with me! Don’t close your eyes! STAY WITH US!” I remember feeling very nauseous. There was an oxygen mask on me and all I wanted to do was take it off. I also remember opening my eyes and seeing a young girl telling me to not close my eyes. All I could do was tell her how pretty she was. When we got to the hospital I asked the doctors to call my wife and tell her what happened. They asked me if I remembered her phone number and I told them, “Yes, I do”, but when I thought about it, the number could not come to mind. At that time they told me not to worry about it because they already gotten the number from the back of my bib. Later on, I thought about how my wife had told me the day before to fill in all the information just in case. I had never done so before. Looking back, it was a great idea to have emergency info on the back of my bib.

My first visit with my cardiologist was something I will never forget. He asked me, “Mr. Sikorski, do you know what happened to you?”

I thought I knew, but I was wrong.

“Sir, yesterday you had a cardiac arrest and you were dead. YOU WERE DEAD.”

I could not believe what he was saying. He told me that I was very lucky to be where I was. He said that there was no better place to have a cardiac arrest than the hospital. He was so right. Where else could I have been surrounded by so many people, firemen, police, and ambulances. Later, I thought about what he said. What if I had a cardiac arrest when I was swimming in the health club or while I was running alone around my neighborhood? This was meant to be. I really believe that I was in the right place and at the right time. I was right next to wonderful people that are in medical field that knew how to perform CPR. Thanks to them I have no brain damage and I’m alive. No wonder at the hospital they called me “Mr. Lucky”.

Today, I’m sitting at home less than a week after my quintuple bypass. I’m recovering well and every day I’m feeling better. I’m so grateful to everyone that was there for me. I could say thank you thousand times and that would not be enough. All those people that were involved in saving my life will always have a special place in my heart. I will never forget them. This experience showed me that there are good people in this world, and that when I needed help angels came to my rescue.