Omaha man shares how strangers saved his life with CPR (ketv.com)

Omaha man shares how strangers saved his life with CPR (ketv.com)
Dana Caudle says his heart stopped three times when he collapsed at the Dallas Airport. Now, he's sharing his story of survival.

Eight months ago, Dana Caudle and his wife Angie just finished their trip to Mexico. They were in the Dallas airport about to fly home to Omaha when something changed.

"Put my hands on my knees and I told my wife, I said, 'Hun, I'm a little dizzy,' and those were the last words I spoke," Caudle said. "Went to the floor immediately. I was dead before I hit the floor."

One of Caudle's arteries was 95% blocked.

"For the next 15 minutes, I was struggling for my life," he said.

His heart stopped started three times that day. Two nurses, two EMTs and a security guard all rushed to him, performed CPR and used a defibrillator.

"They worked as a team to bring me back from death. Luckily, because of these strangers that knew CPR," he said. "They were able to bring me back."

Caudle cheated death and is still coping with his new reality.

"Every day I wonder, is this going to be the day that I come to grips with it? I don't know if I ever will," he said.

He knows the quick thinking of strangers are the reason he's here today.

"I am so thankful that these people were in baggage claim and allowed me to share my story," he said.

Because without them, he would have been dead at 50 years old.

"There would have been a very short book, yes. What I owe them, it's unmeasurable. They gave my life," he said. "If it wasn't for them, I wouldn't be here for sure."

That day in the airport gave him a new outlook.

"It's the little things that you think about," he said. "To be able to impact individuals, to be able to share a sunset with my wife."

Since then, Caudle has made some changes and lost 60 pounds.

"I had a heart attack for a reason," he said.

He started eating portioned meals throughout the day instead of binging at night.

"It's certainly something that's worthwhile. You have to do it if you want to have any sort of longevity," he said.

Caudle is asking people to learn CPR.

"It doesn't take much effort to learn it," he said.

So that when a heart attack happens, you can give others — like people gave him — a second chance at life.

"Fifty years, I wasn't done yet apparently," he said.