Miguel Morales knows he's lucky to be alive. Less than three weeks ago, the New Jersey resident was clinically dead.
His heart stopped moments after walking into his job as a doorman at Novotel in Times Square.
"I was getting into work and I said hello to one of my coworkers and then I passed out," Morales recalled.
That coworker started CPR almost immediately after Morales went into cardiac arrest. He and others at the hotel worked on him for about 10 minutes until an ambulance arrived.
"They saved my life," Morales said.
The 72-year-old was initially taken to a hospital closer to his job. But staff there recommended he be transferred to Mt. Sinai St. Luke's.
"30 years ago if you had this concern, this would have been the equivalent of dying," said Dr. Amir Ahmadi, a cardiologist at the hospital.
By the time Morales arrived at Mt. Sinai St. Luke's, he had been resuscitated. But he was not out of the woods.
(Doctors operate on Miguel Morales. Image courtesy of Mt. Sinai St. Luke's).
While there, his kidneys began to fail, and he suffered an additional heart attack and seven strokes. Doctors needed to manage those factors before attempting to clear the blockages in Morales's heart.
A decision was made to focus on his brain first.
"We thought the heart was stable enough that we could actually pay attention to the brain and do something right away called hypothermia protocol," Ahmadi said.
By lowering body temperature to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit, the procedure can help preserve a patient's brain cells. With brain function no longer the top priority, several days later doctors were able to repair Morales's heart.
(To preserve Miguel Morales's brain cells while they repaired his heart, doctors at Mt. Sinai St. Luke's lowered his body temperature to about 91 degrees Fahrenheit. Image courtesy of Mt. Sinai St. Luke's).
Doctors said they did what they could, and it's turned into a success story.
"From cardiac arrest to today, three weeks after, to be able to talk to him, to have a normal conversation, and basically have a normal life, it is an amazing experience," said Dr. Pedro Moreno, an interventional cardiologist at Mt. Sinai St. Luke's.
"It's something that completely motivates me to go back more energetic than before," Ahmadi said.
(Less than a month after he suffered multiple heart attacks and seven strokes, Miguel Morales is, with some assistance, walking again. Angi Gonzalez/NY1).
The experience has made Morales more excited than ever to mark his 50th wedding anniversary once he's released from the hospital.
"I have a plan with my wife to go back to the same church where we married…and remarry," Morales said.
A chance to celebrate the years they've had together, and the ones still ahead.
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