Orland Park Man Makes It to the Church on Time Following Life-Saving Heart Procedure at Silver Cross
David Nenn and Bridget O’Brien on their wedding day following Nenn’s unexpected heart attack and lifesaving treatment at Silver Cross Hospital last summer.
Millions were stunned as they watched the Monday Night Football game where emergency medical technicians worked for nearly 20 minutes to resuscitate Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin. He had collapsed on the field from what later was revealed to be a cardiac arrest following a hit in the Bills-Bengals game Jan. 2.
Dave Nenn and Bridget O’Brien of Orland Park were especially emotional as they watched.
About seven months earlier, Nenn collapsed in the parking lot of the Frankfort Home Depot. Or so he was told.
“I was buying some lumber and had rented a truck,” said Nenn, soon to be 50. “I was walking out to the parking lot, and the next thing I know, I’m waking up at Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox.”
O’Brien, who was set to marry fellow teacher Nenn in two weeks, got a phone call, thinking it was her fiancé.
“But it was a clerk at Home Depot, using his phone. She told me he had collapsed in the parking lot. She said they had called 911, and EMTs were on their way. But a bystander had seen what was going on and was administering CPR.”
Quick Care at Silver Cross
O’Brien was told to head for the Silver Cross Emergency Department . As the Frankfort Fire EMT’s were transporting him, they also alerted the ED team, which notified the cardio team, including interventional cardiologist, Dr. Hazem Alhawasli .
“Someone from the cardiac team is always on call,” Dr. Alhawasli said. “I was on that day. I could see from the electrocardiogram (EKG), Dave had suffered a heart attack. After we took him back to the Cath Lab, we found the front artery of his heart was 100 percent blocked.”
O’Brien couldn’t believe what was happening. She and Nenn don’t smoke, watch their weight, and are active. Neither abuses alcohol nor takes drugs.
“It didn’t make any sense. All of a sudden, wedding plans – who sat next to who – didn’t matter. I was scared we weren’t going to have a wedding at all.”
Dr. Alhawasli said Nenn’s heart function was down to 20 percent at one point. Loss of brain and lung function were a concern since they didn’t know how long his heart had stopped before the bystander began working on him.
“In cardiology, every second without heart function is critical to the other organs,” Dr. Alhawasli said.
Nenn needed three stents to get the blood flowing to the heart and the other organs. The surgery was on a Thursday, and by Saturday, they had taken him off the ventilator.
“He was starting to talk a little bit, but later that day, we had him up and walking a bit,” Dr. Alhawasli said. “Thankfully, he was showing no signs of damage to the brain or to the lungs.”
Dr. Alhawasli said Nenn being in good shaped helped his positive outcome, but more so the quick work by the bystander who administered CPR until the EMTs could get there.
“There are classes all over to teach people lifesaving skills like CPR and what to do if someone is choking,” he said. “That bystander helped Dave get to life support. You could save a life, too.”
Since Nenn’s father also had stents place, genetics likely played a large factor in his blockage, Dr. Alhawasli said. And it’s not usual he didn’t have any symptoms, even with a major artery that was entirely blocked.
Dr. Alhawasli understands. He said he became a cardiologist because his father suffered a serious heart attack at age 42. Because of the distance to medical care in his native land, his father took a long time to recover.
Silver Cross Heart Scan
And, yes, he’s had a heart test, too. And he suggests people over 40, especially men, come in for a test to see if they might need more testing. And if you have shortness of breath, chest pain, pain in the left arm or jaw, get to a doctor immediately, he said.
“Don’t wait. Because the longer you do, the more damage could be happening to your heart.”
Dr. Alhawasli said he saw Nenn and O’Brien a week after surgery, and a week before their planned wedding.
“It was very emotional,” he said. “The tears of sadness turned to tears of joy when we saw how much Dave had improved in just a week. But that is a credit to our whole team. They made this all happen.”And the wedding went off as planned…with a minor wardrobe change since Dave had to wear a heart monitor for several months.
“We had a lot of fun with pictures from the wedding, at first trying to hide the monitor,” Nenn said. “Then we thought it would be good to include it to show what was going on in our lives.”
Nenn and O’Brien credit the “amazing” Dr. Alhawasli and his team, as well as the bystander whom O’Brien got a chance to thank by phone.
“He was so humble. But thank goodness he knew CPR. At my school, we have opportunities to learn. And I strongly suggest people do. You never know whose life you’ll save.”
Silver Cross is offering $49 heart scans. To learn more or schedule a test, visit silvercross.org/heart-scan
