My name is Geoffrey Beach, I'm 46 years old. At 42 years old, I had a heart attack. I've
been into motorcycles all my life, since I was young. I had just completed a long motorcycle
ride the day before. I had gotten out on the driveway to start a motorcycle that wouldn't
start. After a couple tries, I started feeling the pain in my arm. Riding a motorcycle in
traffic, you use your left arm for clutching a lot, and you can get "clutch elbow," and
that's what it felt like, and that's what I attributed it to. A little while later,
I was on the phone with my wife, telling her I wasn't feeling all that great, and I had
mentioned I had pain in my arm. I didn't want to go to the hospital for this, I didn't want
any part of this, I just wanted to, you know, go about my day. My wife convinced me that
at least we could go to the doctor's office, which was right down the street, and the doctor
ran an EKG. So he picks up the printout and he starts looking at everything, he says,
"Dial 9-1-1!" And that's when I really was like, "Wow. No way. No way. This ain't happening."
That was it, next thing I knew I was in an ambulance on my way to the hospital. I don't
remember a whole lot until I got on the table, and at that point I realized something was
going to happen to me with my heart and it was going to happen in the next few seconds.
I think there's a cohesive bond between the paramedics, the 12-lead EKG, the way the cath
lab team works, and the whole Henry Ford principle of getting you in and getting you fixed now.
They were hours ahead of where I thought I was even going and they were already into
knowing what they were going to do, who was going to do it, how it was going to get done.
In a matter of minutes I felt better, I realized it was over, and I realized how important
this team was. I didn't realize how important it was until after the procedure was done
and one of the team members had shown me a DVD or something, a clip of what they did
and how they did it, but it was mind-blowing watching, once that was done, the rest of
your insides all of a sudden come to life. And it had been dormant for I don't know how
long, and I felt 100% after that had happened. I hadn't known how long I was not running
on 100%, but those precious minutes could have left it with 0%. From the time I went
into the ambulance to the time I was on the table and the balloon was working was 17 minutes.
I mean, that's, I blew four hours of that at home, in denial. But it is a big deal,
and with the way technology is and the commitment Henry Ford has, it's just unreal how many
lives are saved. What we did was try to live life to the fullest, and for years I thought
that meant just relax, you know, have somebody else do it, pay to have this done. No more
exercise, no more good food, I mean it was just drive-thrus all the time, whatever was
convenient. You get complacent, and the next thing you know, it sneaks up on you. Since
my heart attack, I have learned how to cook. We all eat healthier, we all exercise, most
of the time together, and our whole lifestyle is focused on just healthier living. It's
not about convenience, you know, we'll go the extra mile. Don't think that you are Superman,
but, you know, when that time comes -- if you keep going the way you're going, that
time will come -- dial 9-1-1. And hope you go to Henry Ford. If it wasn't for the team
at Henry Ford, I wouldn't be here. A matter of a few short minutes saved my life. Changed
my life. And my family's lives.