APPLETON, Wis. (WFRV) – A heart attack survivor found a special way to show his appreciation for one of the doctors who helped him.
Back in February, Jim Hansen had a heart attack near the baggage claim at the Appleton International Airport. The quick actions of a bystander who knew CPR saved his life.
“She wasn’t even supposed to be on that flight, so many blessings lined up to make this as good of a success as it could be,” Hansen said.
Hansen told Local 5 News that the next thing he remembered was waking up at Ascension St. Elizabeth Hospital in Appleton. He said the team he worked with at the hospital did an amazing job of caring for him including getting him through bypass surgery.
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He said the care cardiologist Dr. Carrie Chapman provided stood out.
“Just the compassion that she has, the passion she has for her job,” he told Local 5 News. “But more importantly, the compassion she had for me somebody that she didn’t really know. Her determination, her perseverance, her pushing me, her motivating me.”
Hansen said doctors told his family he had about a 12 percent chance to live and a much lower chance of making a full recovery. He credits his ability to defy the odds to the people who helped him in his recovery along the way calling them his guardian angels.
That’s why he says he nominated Dr. Chapman for a ‘Guardian Angel’ award.
“I couldn’t believe it, again there were a lot of people on his team,” Dr. Chapman said. “I was so humbled, he’s just a kind, kind guy. It couldn’t happen to a better person to have such a wonderful outcome. So I’m really happy for him.”
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On Friday afternoon at the hospital, Hansen was there for a short ceremony to see Dr. Chapman receive the ‘Guardian Angel’ award. Hansen has made a full recovery and said he’s back to exercising and doing other outdoor activities with his friends and family.
“From someone who we didn’t even know if he would survive to having a complete full recovery and should have a normal life,” Dr. Chapman told Local 5 News. “A lot of people were involved and it’s a great story.”
Dr. Chapman also said that Hansen’s story highlights the importance of learning CPR saying that the bystander at the airport who knew how to do it made the difference in Jim’s outcome.
