A Virginia man used both his bad and good luck for the day by crashing near a cardiologist’s office after having a heart attack.
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The Virginia Beach local has been given a second chance at life thanks to the speedy reaction of an on-scene cardiologist.
WTKR reported that in August, Jeff Geraci, 64, suffered a near-fatal heart attack while driving down First Colonial Road. Losing consciousness behind the wheel, he crashed.
Thankfully, however, he crashed near the office of Dr. Deepak Talreja, the chief of cardiology for Sentara Health. He heard the crash and rushed out to help.
“I sprint over there, calling 911 on my phone,” Talreja told Geraci in a joint interview with the outlet. “When I got to your car, what I saw was the windshield was shattered and your airbags were deployed, and it was hard to see you because you were surrounded by airbags and a shattered windshield.”
Geraci wasn’t breathing, and Talreja immediately knew that he had suffered sudden cardiac death (SCD).
In a Facebook post by Sentara Health, it was revealed that Talreja delivered “CPR for more than 8 minutes.” Without his quick thinking, Geraci would have remained dead.
Jeff Geraci Given A New Lease On Life
Jeff Geraci had just finished working out in Orange Theory Fitness before getting into his car. “I sat in the car because something didn’t quite feel right. Sipped some coffee, and I was going to sit there and close my eyes for a few minutes. But instead, I decided to drive home,” he recalled.
“The confusion when I woke up with things in my arm and people running around, it was like a dream, a muddled dream, and foggy.”.
Although Geraci has an extensive family history of heart problems, he thought that being active would stave off any heart issues. But cholesterol is a dietary problem. Something he’s now focused on getting under control.
“I got an opportunity to come back, so there’s got to be a reason. And every morning, I pray and think about, if I’m here, I need to be doing more than I was doing… Try to be a better person every day. Try to make everybody smile every day.”
Ultimately, he’s trying to “be an example for my family and warn them and friends. It’s wonderful. I mean, it’s a miracle.”