Part 2 - It Happened in Crawford County: Dale Richardson's amazing story of survival

Shortly after Dale Richardson and Merri Jacobs crossed the Ohio state line while driving home from Virginia, Merri noticed Dale was covered in sweat and visibly uncomfortable. He insisted he was fine, mopping sweat from his face, and kept on driving. He didn’t think it was normal symptoms for a heart attack — more like indigestion and a bloated feeling. Finally, Merri insisted they pull off the road. His discomfort became unbearable. He laid down in the grass while she called 911. The ambulance was close and arrived shortly.

Dale was taken to Fairfield Medical Center in Lancaster, Ohio. What happened next was so amazing that the hospital’s newsletter The Monitor (Fall 2021) would later feature Dale’s heart attack survival story in a piece entitled “The Long Road Home.”

It was a holiday weekend, providers and staff members poured in from far and wide. Some were at the hospital; others traveled from home at a moment’s notice. Cardiologists Dr. Andrew Stiff and Jeremy Buckley, MD, immediately arrived to help manage Dale’s condition. Cardiothoracic surgeon P. Aryeh Cohen, MD, alerted his specialty team to the critical situation unfolding in the Cath Lab, and pulmonologist and critical care provider Jarrod Bruce, MD, took the lead tending to Dale’s failing respiratory system. His cardiac arrest was caused by 100% blockage of the right coronary artery, which can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle if not resolved quickly.

Coronary artery was 100% blocked

It was a holiday weekend, providers and staff members poured in from far and wide. Some were at the hospital; others traveled from home at a moment’s notice. Cardiologists Dr. Andrew Stiff and Dr. Jeremy Buckley immediately arrived to help manage Dale’s condition. Cardiothoracic surgeon Dr. P. Aryeh Cohen alerted his specialty team to the critical situation unfolding in the Cath Lab, and pulmonologist and critical care provider Dr. Jarrod Bruce took the lead tending to Dale’s failing respiratory system. His cardiac arrest was caused by 100% blockage of the right coronary artery, which can cause permanent damage to the heart muscle if not resolved quickly.

Dale was alert and in good spirits and gave Merri the ‘thumbs up.” Everything was going to be fine from here on out. But it wasn’t ok. His heart stopped. The doctors began administering CPR and shocked his heart more than 20 times for about 35 minutes. Dale said the doctor later told him that he was technically dead all that time. They finally got his heart stabilized, including implanting a stent in his heart. Five doctors and many staff all worked at the same time. In this situation, performing CPR correctly meant breaking the sternum and all the ribs on the right side and half on the left.

Dale was visibly stressed while relating this part of the story and being placed in a fentanyl-induced coma. His son hoped that his granddaughter’s voice would help him respond. Instead, he went into hallucinations that his granddaughter was being abducted. It was a real horror story as he fought this in his mind for 13 days. He could see her being taken away while she screamed. He thought the doctors were ignoring him and the nurses wouldn’t help. Hallucinations are indescribable. He also thought his son was coming to take him home. He hallucinated that he was fighting with staff and was tied in the bed. He also fought with himself not to fall asleep, even when they could finally take him out of the coma. Once he was coherent, Merri reassured him it was a great hospital, excellent staff and all of his family was okay. His doctor reminded him that he shouldn’t be alive, walking or talking.

Finally, after 21 days since his first heart attack, Dale set foot on his own property and was able to say, “I’m home.” He could concentrate on getting in shape and his passion for working on cars and taking care of his animals. He has a small farm, and they all liven up the place; they bring joy, and he doesn’t get any talk back. They love to see him. He enjoys the donkeys, cows, and Riley, the smallest pit bull who plays with the goat. They look like they are playing tag. One touches the other and they start going in the other direction.

Dale was stricken with COVID-19 two times

But, even after everything that happened, he got COVID-19 — not once, but twice —and had to recover from it.

The greatest joy of all for Dale is spending time with his family.

Dale feels like God has saved him to be a blessing to others and that’s his mission in life. One of those occasions happened recently when this columnist's car broke down in the UDF parking lot. Dale walked over and said, “I can fix that tire.” He dropped what he was doing, took his truck and mower home and came back with a big jack. He repaired the tire and arranged with his friend who sells tires to get two new ones on her car.

Just one more example of God’s plan to orchestrate love in this world.