New Jersey man reunites with hospital team that saved his life with marathon CPR session
TEANECK, N.J. -- Kyle Hewlett and his mom, Gina Gilmore, have a lot to be thankful for.
Hewlett's critical care team at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey saved his life after he suddenly went into cardiac arrest.
On Monday, Hewlett, 24, and Gilmore reunited with the hospital team.
"I just remember yelling 'Save my son! Save my son!' And they did. And I'm forever grateful," said Gilmore.
Hewlett was admitted to the hospital in July after complaining of fatigue. He was diagnosed with myocarditis, or inflammation of of his heart muscle, before his sudden cardiac arrest.
The 20-person critical care team performed a marathon CPR session that lasted a whopping 90 minutes.
Dr. Stephen Angeli, an interventional cardiologist at Holy Name Medical Center, said CPR for that long is rare, but they were determined not to let Hewlett die.
"Kyle was showing signs that told us that he was there, he was OK, he was still present underneath all of that," said Angeli.
Indeed, Hewlett was partially awake through all of it.
"I was fighting in my head to open my eyes, whatever I could do so they wouldn't give up on me. And they didn't give up on me, and I'm here today" said Hewlett.
Through the chaos, Hewlett said he remembers a young woman standing over him holding his hand and holding him together. That was registered nurse and cardiac clinical coordinator Toni Whittaker.
"I remember holding your hand and just being like, you know, 'We're here with you. We're not leaving you, trust us. We're going to make sure you get through this," Whittaker told Hewlett.
After several weeks in the ICU, Hewlett went home with a healthy heart and full of gratitude.