09/22/2025
At 2:30 a.m. Mac told his wife to call 911. He was having a heart attack.
On the way to the hospital, his heart stopped twice. Paramedics got it beating again.
Doctors found one coronary artery was 100% blocked. They performed a balloon angioplasty and implanted a temporary heart pump. They put Mac into a coma for seven days to ease the trauma on his body.
"They didn't think I was going to make it," Mac said.
His wife, Erin, knew doctors feared the worst. Until one day the cardiologist burst into Mac’s room and said, "Erin, he's actually turned the corner." She burst into tears.
Each day after brought Mac closer to being the person everyone knew and cherished – determined, optimistic and perhaps just a little bit stubborn.
"Once I was able to get up, I wanted to be walking," he said. "I had so many tubes in me – a friend told me he counted 17 at one point – it took a half hour to get them all out so I could walk. By the time I left, I was doing laps around the unit."
Together Mac and Erin have been on a path to better health. Mac’s blood pressure is the lowest it's been in 30 years. The couple began focusing on eating more fish, vegetables, fruits and other healthy foods. They began walking together.
He hasn't been cleared to run, but last year Mac fast-walked 17 5K races with friends. He still loves his job, but he's content to leave at 5 p.m. and head home.
Mac believes there's a reason his life was spared. So, every chance he gets, he tells friends to listen to their doctors. To take their medicine. And, if they ever think they're having a heart attack, call 911.
"If I can help someone else, even just one person," he said, "we've done good things."
Read Mac's Story From the Heart http://spr.ly/6187ArnmV
