Mike Card hugs EmergyCare paramedic Sadie Hoffman when the two met this week at the Youngsville Fire Hall. Hoffman, along with Michael Van Tassel and Elizabeth Kay, provided pre-hospital care for Card when he had a heart attack at Winterfest. Photos by Josh Cotton

WARREN, Pa. — Sometimes bad things still happen in the right place at the right time.

Just ask Mike Card.

He went to Warren County Winterfest with his wife, Lisa, back in January. Lisa, the administrative assistant for the Warren County Visitors Bureau, was there for work.

They went to the Polar Plunge and then over to the sled riding hill for some fun with family.

“I got to the top of the hill on my third time and I was just so tired,” Mike, 51, said. He slid to the bottom and then had to go sit down. He was sweating terribly.

The responders who cared for Mike Card had a chance to meet him under better circumstances this week. From left, paramedic Sadie Hoffman, EMT Elizabeth Kay, Lisa Card, Mike Card and EMT Michael Van Tassel.

Then came the chest pain and the nausea.

EmergyCare had a crew and ambulance at Chapman State Park for the event.

“He went down on his knees right next to EmergyCare,” Lisa said. “The EMTs were right there.”

“I remember seeing them running across the hill,” Mike said.

Mike VanTassel and Elizabeth Kay, still in high school and working part-time with EmergyCare, were the EMTs running the ambulance.

They made the quick decision to get Mike rolling toward Warren General Hospital. They were met by paramedic Sadie Hoffman in Clarendon.

Mike said he remembers the responders pulling the gurney out, having a pill put under his tongue and riding down Chapman Dam Road.

The leads on the heart monitor wouldn’t stick because Mike was swearing so much. He remembers one of the EMTs telling the other that they “might want to start driving faster.”

He remembers being wheeled through Warren General, asking a doctor if it was bad.

He was told it was.

He had a chance to give a hug and kiss to Lisa and their kids. But from there, his eyes started to roll back in his head. He was asked if he was OK and said he didn’t know.

That was the start of cardiac arrest.

“I was in there when he went into cardiac arrest,” Lisa said. Mike had a seizure and the family was rushed out of the room.

“Then I felt someone just pushed me in the chest really hard and that hurt,” Mike said. “I could feel myself literally sleeping. It was the most peaceful sleep. All of a sudden everything started to turn white, like a spotlight right in front of your face.”

He recalls, though, that he didn’t feel like he had to squint.

“I remember coming back out of it,” Mike said. He first asked the doctor how he was doing.

That’s when he learned that his heart had stopped.

“I told them I was not ready for a dirt nap yet,” Mike said.

He was transferred to St. Vincent’s — three stents were placed — and he spent four days there before returning home.

Lisa said she’s since learned that the type of heart attack he had comes with a 5-10% survival rate.

The heart attack struck out of nowhere.

Lisa said he doesn’t smoke or drink and has been active. He’s had heart palpitations for years but was given a clean bill of health just two months before the incident. It seems there may have been a genetic component.

While part of his heart is functioning at a reduced capacity, he’s hopeful he’ll get the all clear to go back to work before too much longer.

Regardless of the cause, they know they’re lucky to still have each other.

And they recognize that was because of the response from VanTassel, Kay and Hoffman.

“They went right in, didn’t panic, and knew what to do,” Lisa said. “They saved his life. He’s very lucky to be here. Very blessed to be here.”

She called them the “most amazing heroes. They’re not getting paid a lot of money…. They make such a difference in people’s lives.”

For their family, Lisa acknowledged their 15-year-old daughter may have lost a father if the responders hadn’t acted so quickly. She’s convinced: “If he had not been standing there, I do not believe he would have been there for one second.”

“We live in a great community,” she said. “We had tons of prayer, acts of kindness…. It just reaffirms why we love living in Warren County so much.”

“I’m very, very grateful that EmergyCare was there,” Mike said. “All of the ones that were involved, I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”