Honda associate saves co-worker’s life during run
Honda of America Mfg. co-workers Mike Erdelsky and Bob Keating have shared a special friendship and fitness connection as running partners for 15 years. In addition to living several blocks away from each other and working on the same floor at their workplace, the pair now has another unique bond as a result of Keating’s heroic actions July 25 that saved his friend’s life.
Erdelsky, 53, who works for the company’s New Model Strategy division, began experiencing symptoms of a heart attack while the two were on a run that day near their homes in the Dublin area.
They had planned on a five-mile run at an easy pace after coming off of some minor running injuries. Coincidentally, the duo happened to be talking about the good results of Erdelsky’s recent physical exam when he suddenly began feeling a tightness in his chest area around mile four.
“Mike thought he was just having some muscle tightness in his chest, so we rested a bit, and then started running again,” said Keating, who works for Honda’s North American Supplier Quality and Delivery division.
However, a short time later, Erdelsky mentioned the tightness again, and his friend witnessed him “fade off and collapse to the ground.
“He began seizing and foaming at the mouth,” Keating said, recalling the frightening situation of his friend’s heart attack, which Erdelsky fortunately does not remember. “I thought he was having a seizure and laid him on his left side. I found that he was breathing, and called for help.”
After alerting neighbors in the residential area and asking them to call 911, Keating again checked on his friend, who suddenly had stopped breathing. He said he laid Erdelsky on his back and began chest compressions, utilizing CPR training he had learned through Honda’s safety program.
While completing the compressions is physically exhausting, Erdelsky was able to continue for eight minutes until the paramedics arrived.
Once the medical professionals were on site, they were able to automate the CPR process. Erdelsky was stabilized and Keating was informed that his co-worker’s heart was beating again prior to transport to the OhioHealth Dublin Methodist Hospital emergency room.
“As they drove away in the ambulance, all of my emotions about what had happened just came crashing down on me,” said Keating, who is also 53. “It was so overwhelming. I was hopeful about Mike’s situation, but we just didn’t know how he would do.”
Erdelsky soon was transferred to OhioHealth Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus so that he could be treated in the heart catheterization lab There, it was found that his left anterior descending artery was 90 percent blocked, and he underwent an emergency procedure to install a stent in his heart “to get everything working again,” he said.
Following the surgery, Erdelsky was placed in a therapeutic hypothermic state for 24 hours as a precaution to protect his neurological functions after the heart attack. Once he was conscious again, he said he initially suffered short-term memory loss.
“The scary part was that we didn’t know what the long-term effects would be, as far as neurologic functions, after the heart attack since the brain is starved of oxygen during some of that time,” he said. “However, starting that Wednesday, I began getting my memory back again.”
It was also that Wednesday, July 29, that Erdelsky was able to call his close friend to let him know how well he was doing.
“I was driving home from work when I received Mike’s call,” Keating said. “I didn’t know what Mike’s condition was, so just hearing his voice again, I was totally overwhelmed with joy.”
The Honda of America employee was released from the hospital the next day, and began his recovery at home. After being cleared by the physical therapy and neurological team, he started cardiac rehab, first slowly walking on the treadmill and lifting weights.
After about three weeks, Erdelsky was thrilled to be able to start trying some jogging.
“My therapists said my progress was very quick since I’d been a runner before all of this happened,” he said, noting that he also was able to return to work about six weeks after the heart attack.
Then he began planning a strategy to return to running on his own, and with his lifesaver friend. A virtual 10K race to benefit the Ronald McDonald House Charities was coming up in September, and Erdelsky wanted to be able to participate alongside Keating, both of whom have worked at Honda of America for more than 30 years.
“It just so happened that the last day we could participate in the run, I was cleared to participate by cardiac rehab. I would do that again in a heart beat,” he said of joining his friend in the 10K.
Keating related that he was thankful for the safety training he received at Honda, including CPR, that kicked in during the high-stress situation.
“It all came back to mind during this traumatic event,” he said. “I’m so thankful I was able to do that and that I had the training.”
The pair plan to continue their running passion together, and Erdelsky said he is scheduling additional testing, such as a calcium CT scan of his heart, to help ensure his continued health.
“My family and I have been thrilled with the recovery that I’ve been able to make. I am so grateful to Bob for stepping up and saving my life; likely I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”