“I will forever be indebted to them,” Oklahoma doctor thankful to be alive after having heart attack
JENKS, Okla. – An Oklahoma doctor is feeling grateful to be alive after a group of people saved his life when he had a heart attack.
Earlier this week, Dr. Steve Nussbaum was on the way to the gym, running with two other men, when he realized he’d had a heart attack.
“I’ve done this for a living. I’ve been on the other side of this many, many times,” he said.
Nussbaum and the men were near the gym when the incident happened. One of the men noticed Nussbaum had stopped breathing and ran to get help inside the gym. Nussbaum says the last thing he remembers is falling down.
That’s when several people inside the gym stepped up to help.
The gym owner had an AED ready and Jenks firefighters, as well as an FBI agent, were already at the gym off-duty working out.
“This is the God part of this, you know,” Nussbaum said. “All the things that had to be right for me to be able to be standing here talking to you today were right. And I don’t think that’s an accident.”
Nussbaum, who has been working in the ER for almost 20 years, says he’s seen the other side of things like this, and is grateful for those who helped save his life.
“The guys, every guy that stepped up and played a part in that, I will forever be indebted to them,” he said.
He also says he is still recovering and plans to return to the gym in about a month.