|
|
|
It was supposed to be an exhilarating test of physical strength, endurance, and speed, but for 49 year-old Brendan Byrne of Henrietta, the 6th annual Black Diamond Duathlon turned out to be a test of a much greater kind.
On Saturday, October 16, Byrne lined up with 100 other runners and bikers for an off-road duathlon at Fishers Park near Victor, NY. He powered through the first and second legs of the race, running and biking well. But on the last leg, without a hint of warning, he suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the trail. Byrne was found unresponsive by other runners and after receiving CPR and defibrillation, was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital.
Four weeks later, he’s making a full, and miraculous, recovery.
“I don’t remember anything at all of that Saturday,” Byrne says. “It’s affected my memory to the point where I don’t remember getting up, or packing up and leaving for the race. I remember absolutely nothing of the day.”
Byrne was admitted to the emergency department and then the cardiac catheter lab in Strong where doctors induced a coma, inserted two stents to hold his arteries open, and dropped his body temperature to 230 Celsius to prevent organ damage.
Byrne’s wife, Sandy Handley, was at home when she learned of her husband’s accident.
“When I got ‘the’ phone call it was one of those life changing moments,” she recalls with an audible shudder. “I heard the words ‘race’ and ‘cardiac arrest’ — my knees buckled. You do everything deliberately and focus on what you need to do right then. You never know what you are capable of until you’re in the situation. You just try to care for the people around you.”
When her husband was brought into the hospital he was ‘unidentified,’ remembers Handley. In the process of being shocked, his road ID came off, and although a member of the transport team handed Byrne’s ID to emergency department personnel, they still needed to positively confirm his identity and the allergies listed.
“The social worker at Strong went above and beyond the call of duty,” says Handley. “She went online and looked for races that had been held in the area. Because his shoes had dirt on them she knew he had been in a trail race, and she found his name registered in the (Black Diamond Duathlon).”
Twist of fate
In a life changing twist of fate, the person who was a key player in saving Byrne’s life almost didn’t make the race. Sarah Russell ran the 2009 Black Diamond Duathlon as part of a relay team and won first place. She and her team mate were coming back to win again this year, but an asthma flair up and a slow recovery from another recent marathon made her reluctant to tackle the duathlon.
It was supposed to be an exhilarating test of physical strength, endurance, and speed, but for 49 year-old Brendan Byrne of Henrietta, the 6th annual Black Diamond Duathlon turned out to be a test of a much greater kind.
On Saturday, October 16, Byrne lined up with 100 other runners and bikers for an off-road duathlon at Fishers Park near Victor, NY. He powered through the first and second legs of the race, running and biking well. But on the last leg, without a hint of warning, he suffered cardiac arrest and collapsed on the trail. Byrne was found unresponsive by other runners and after receiving CPR and defibrillation, was taken to Strong Memorial Hospital.
Four weeks later, he’s making a full, and miraculous, recovery.
“I don’t remember anything at all of that Saturday,” Byrne says. “It’s affected my memory to the point where I don’t remember getting up, or packing up and leaving for the race. I remember absolutely nothing of the day.”
Byrne was admitted to the emergency department and then the cardiac catheter lab in Strong where doctors induced a coma, inserted two stents to hold his arteries open, and dropped his body temperature to 230 Celsius to prevent organ damage.
Byrne’s wife, Sandy Handley, was at home when she learned of her husband’s accident.
“When I got ‘the’ phone call it was one of those life changing moments,” she recalls with an audible shudder. “I heard the words ‘race’ and ‘cardiac arrest’ — my knees buckled. You do everything deliberately and focus on what you need to do right then. You never know what you are capable of until you’re in the situation. You just try to care for the people around you.”
When her husband was brought into the hospital he was ‘unidentified,’ remembers Handley. In the process of being shocked, his road ID came off, and although a member of the transport team handed Byrne’s ID to emergency department personnel, they still needed to positively confirm his identity and the allergies listed.
“The social worker at Strong went above and beyond the call of duty,” says Handley. “She went online and looked for races that had been held in the area. Because his shoes had dirt on them she knew he had been in a trail race, and she found his name registered in the (Black Diamond Duathlon).”
Twist of fate
In a life changing twist of fate, the person who was a key player in saving Byrne’s life almost didn’t make the race. Sarah Russell ran the 2009 Black Diamond Duathlon as part of a relay team and won first place. She and her team mate were coming back to win again this year, but an asthma flair up and a slow recovery from another recent marathon made her reluctant to tackle the duathlon.
“I actually called (race director Brian Emelson) and asked if I could transfer my registration to another friend if I could find a sub,” says Russell, who also happens to be a registered nurse at Thompson Hospital.
For the Byrne family, Russell’s last minute decision impacted their lives forever. The 35 year-old mother of four brought her inhaler and wore a face mask in order to run the first and last legs of the race. Her partner took over on the second bike leg of the race, and in another inexplicable twist of fate experienced a mechanical failure that in turn put Russell in exactly the right place at exactly the right time with exactly the right set of skills.
“I took off on my run,” recalls Russell, “and I came up to this patch and there were three guys standing over Brendan who was already on the ground. His eyes were open and he still had a pulse so I started rescue breathing. I was talking to him, rubbing his head, and his eyes were open, but I don’t know if he heard me. Then his heart stopped and I called for someone to do compressions.”
Another runner, Jamie Beaujon, sprang into action and Russell called out for an AED (automatic external defibrillator). A third runner used his cell phone to call for help and his GPS to give their exact location. A forth runner took turns with Beaujon continuing with compressions. Moments later a small all-terrain vehicle drove up with an AED and a sheriff’s deputy on board.
“I’m pretty sure that the Lord God in heaven wanted Brandon Byrne to live,” says Russell with certainty, “if he provided an AED and a nurse that knows CPR.”
Deeply moved by the experience, Russell still wells up with emotion when she remembers.
“I’ve watched babies born,” says Russell. “I’ve seen people die. I have done CPR on hundreds of babies and on older compromised patients. But this was a little more personal thing — I held that man’s face in my hands for about 20 to 30 minutes and I was breathing the whole time — with my asthmatic breath. It (felt like) the breath of God. As a Christian woman I have always believed that the hand of God is on everything - that he is in control of everything.”
Fitness test
A lifestyle of fitness doesn’t hurt either.
“I’ve been running since about 1973,” recalls Byrne. “I started running a couple of years before high school and then ran in college, too. I was getting back up to around 50-60 miles a week before this race.”
Byrne has also been cycling for about 25 years, and more consistently for the last two years.
“It was matter of having the time — making the time I guess,” comments Byrne. “I started biking because I had stepped off a curb and had to have surgery. Once I started riding the bike back and forth to work I was more motivated.”
Byrne describes his vehicle as “a hybrid — not exactly a road bike, not exactly an off-road bike.”
“It doesn’t do either one very well,” he says with a smile. “It doesn’t do either one very badly either.”
“The fact that I’ve been running on and off since 37 years ago has given me a much stronger cardiovascular system than someone who doesn’t exercise. My heart is stronger than the average 50 year-old.”
His recovery time proves the point.
“The doctors told my wife I could be in the hospital for 10 days,” he says, “but I went in Saturday and went home on Wednesday.”
Now Byrne is an avid and vocal proponent of a healthy lifestyle.
“I’m making my brothers quit smoking,” he says. “If I can have a heart attack at fifty then they can certainly have one. I think that their chances of living through a heart attack are much worse.”
Road to recovery
Thankfully, Byrne is now back at work and starting an 18-session cardiac rehab program as of the first week of November.
When will he run again?
“As soon as I can. I don’t have any races planned — obviously anything in the near future is off the table. I’ll have to see how things go. On December 4 there’s a 5K run/walk race that actually starts and ends in front of my house. I’m going to try and run in that one — I’m going to try. If I can’t run it I may try to walk it.”
“It clearly wasn’t his time to go because he was surrounded by people who were committed to keeping him alive,” said a grateful Handley about her husband. “He was never without oxygen.
“My wife keeps testing me — asking me questions to see if there’s any brain damage,” says Byrne with a smile. “So far I’ve passed.”
Race coordinator Brian Emelson of Victor Parks and Recreation has stayed in contact with Byrne and his family in the weeks following the Black Diamond Duathlon. “It’s a credit of his background as a runner,” he says, “and the quick efforts of the folks who responded with CPR and the AED, and the ability of the cardiac unit at Strong. He’s doing well. It’s all good news.”
“When you talk about second chances, you want to make sure that you take full advantage of the fact that you have a second chance,” says Handley. “I’m never going to take things for granted again.”
Byrne’s wit remains quick and sharp, and his humor intact, but his appreciation of life runs deeper than ever. “I am happy to still be here,” he said, “and I’m going to try and enjoy every moment that I’m here, no matter what I’m doing.”
