At 83 years old, Daniel Greco says he feels like he’s been given a second chance. The Long Island man returned to the place where he collapsed back in April but he remembers very little.
“Absolutely nothing. I see it and I still don’t believe it. I don’t have a heart condition and had no heart problems,” Greco told NBC New York Thursday.
Heart problems he wasn’t aware of — he even had gotten a clean bill of health from his doctors. Then on April 30, while standing at an ATM in Melville, he suddenly crashed to the floor.
Greco watched the security video from that day. He was standing in front of the ATM when he suddenly crashed to the floor. A woman with her son saw him on the floor and she runs for help.
“To this day I still see Mr. Greco, something I will carry with me forever,” said Kalie Kerschbaumer, a process improvement engineer at Northwell NetworkCare.
Even though Greco, of Lake Grove, was having a heart attack and going into cardiac arrest, he was fortunate that there was an office full of nurse practitioners across the hall from the ATM.
“We hear Kali call for help we go out there. We see a man on the floor. He’s lifeless and immediately your instincts kick in,” said Samantha Meguluevich, a nurse practitioner.
Luckily the office had an AED which they used. The nurses took turns doing compressions and they were able to revive him before the ambulance arrived
“He had three arteries that were partially blocked and a severe blockage of one of the valves in his heart,” said Dr. Lawrence Ong, an interventional cardiologist at Plainview Hospital.
Greco was rushed to Plainview Hospital and eventually got heart surgery. Doctors also praised the nurses as the immediate CPR helped save his life.
“There is no doubt that his smooth recovery began with an outstanding and efficient CPR resuscitation,” said Dr. William Shi, a cardiovascular surgeon at North Shore University Hospital.
Bonnie Greco, Daniel’s wife, is thankful he went into cardiac arrest when he did. He had been driving just before he collapsed. Now the couple is looking forward to celebrating their 55th wedding anniversary.
“Like I said, I believe in God. God knew where to put them that day,” Bonnie Greco said.
