As we navigate through life, we are continually faced with the painful reality that misfortune can strike anyone, at any time. Take for instance, Jacob Holler, an ATI physical therapist from Maryland, who has always been tabbed as a hale and hearty person. Little did Jacob know that a year ago, on what seemed to be a typical April afternoon, his life would forever change.
It was April 22, 2017, and Jacob and his wife, Rachel, were charging through their usual at-home routine, when suddenly, the unthinkable happened.
While Rachel was in a nearby room, she heard a loud, unfamiliar noise come from the kitchen where Jacob was. Instinctively, Rachel knew something didn’t seem right, so she rushed into the kitchen to find Jacob slumped over the counter unresponsive with no pulse. She immediately dialed 911, then proceeded to perform CPR on him, to no avail. When the EMS crew arrived, they were able to restore his heartbeat after two minutes of working on him. Soon after, he was transported to the hospital.
When Jacob arrived at the hospital, he was in an unstable condition and displayed signs of serious brain damage, which resulted from his brain being deprived of oxygen for close to 10 minutes. Medical staff had informed Rachel that he experienced a Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) and that his chances of powering through the damaging aftermath were bleak. It was at this moment that Rachel was faced with the dispirited reality everyone fears – losing a loved one. As the night went on, the odds continued to stack up against Jacob. With his body slowly losing the battle, strength and determination were all that remained as lines of defense.
Jacob fought relentlessly through the night, but remained unresponsive to the administered treatments. The next afternoon, still intubated, he awoke for the first time since the incident. Though encouraged, his medical team was still weary of what was left of his cognitive abilities since he went without a heartbeat for so long. As time progressed, Jacob’s body slowly began to show signs of improvement. And by nighttime, he was stable enough to be extubated. While this was incredible progress, Jacob still had a long road ahead.
Before we go any further, you may be wondering, how did this happen? Was it avoidable? As a child, Jacob had a history of minor cardiac issues; however, doctors cleared him seven years prior to the 2017 incident, so nobody saw this life-threatening event coming. Given the unpredictable nature of SCA, situations like Jacob’s are not uncommon.
Four days following the cardiac arrest, Jacob underwent surgery to have an ICD (internal cardioverter defibrillator) implanted inside his body. The ICD is intended to help monitor Jacob’s heartrate rhythm and if an abnormality in the heartbeat is detected, the ICD intervenes by sending an electrical shock to restore the heart’s rhythm back to normal function. By adding an ICD, Jacob was provided a little more security and safety. This also allowed him to steadily inch closer to returning to work and his normal routine, which medical staff initially projected to be about three months from the day of his surgery.
Destined to prove his medical team wrong, Jacob’s persistence and high-spirited attitude throughout his recovery afforded him the opportunity to return to work a few weeks after the operation. As if that was not a tremendous enough milestone, about a week later, Jacob began exercising (months sooner than projected), proving yet again ‘average’ was not in his vocabulary.
Given these recent achievements, about a month after returning to work, Jacob’s medical team cleared him for full activity. With just about everything crossed off his recovery checklist, one item remained – get back to driving. Three months into his recovery, Jacob did just that, and in his own words, “It was that moment that my freedom was fully regained”.
While miraculously being spared permanent brain damage, Jacob still incurred losses to his memory and reasoning skills. In fact, to this day he cannot remember anything the weeks leading up to and prior to the Cardiac Arrest. But that’s not to say that all was lost. Since the episode, Jacob continues to engage in daily brain and memory training exercises several hours a day, which has undeniably helped to sharpen his cognitive abilities.
Often times, individuals who experienced a Cardiac Arrest are reluctant to talk about it, however, the most effective way to manage the recovery process rests heavily on one’s awareness of the situation. It’s been said that roughly 80 percent of SCA survivors endure some form of a permanent disability, most commonly depression and other psychologically-related conditions. For Jacob, he did experience a period of depression after the incident, but luckily, it didn’t last for long.
“The most challenging hurdle to overcome was the mental aspect of my SCA,” stated Jacob. “I was lucky to avoid long-term depression, but I wonder how many others could have avoided longer-term depression if they had a support system like I did, who encouraged me to be open and seek the care I needed.”
Usually, most comeback stories stop here. But this isn’t your ordinary comeback story. It gets better!
Shattering every possible doubt was obviously not enough for Jacob. On the anniversary of his cardiac arrest, Jacob took part in a series of physically demanding strength, endurance and agility challenges. However, this adventure was more than a physical challenge for Jacob, it was an opportunity for him to raise awareness for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation. And raise awareness he did!
To kick off his venture, Jacob completed a marathon – but not without a strained calf at mile three. He didn’t stop here. Three days later, Jacob went on to lift 100 tons in a remarkable two hours and 42 minutes – focusing only on front squats, deadlifts, bench presses and barbell rows to increase the difficulty.
In closing out the expedition, Jacob completed the 5050 push-up challenge in eight hours and 16 minutes. If you are not familiar with the 5050 challenge, it requires challengers to complete a set of 100 push-ups, then 99, 98, down to one.
“This was the last challenge, and at this point, I was drained mentally, but my drive and motivation, and a little help from my friends kept me on track,” exclaimed Jacob.
Doubling down on his efforts, Jacob also started a GoFundMe page to raise funds. Between this and the physical challenges, Jacob raised more than $1,700 for the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Foundation.
Although the physical challenges are completed, Jacob’s mission to raise awareness is only beginning. With a near 10 percent survival rate across the nation for Sudden Cardiac cases occurring outside of a hospital, Jacob is stepping up as a motivational speaker to share his experience, raise awareness and educate others on the seriousness of this condition.
But his work doesn’t stop there. Jacob will soon be teaming up with local businesses and schools to help others become CPR certified.
“Things that happen in life are neutral,” exclaims Jacob. “Whether they are good or bad, these things are a function of the meaning we connect to them. I don’t like to say, ‘I suffered a cardiac arrest’, instead, I say, ‘I experienced one’, because ‘experiencing’ something is neutral. In the aftermath of this event, I am better rounded, happier, have better friendships, have a stronger marriage and feel stronger than I was before. This might have been a steep price to pay, but that doesn’t sound like such a bad outcome. The ultimate power of the human being is to tell stories, and in doing so, redefine events to make us better.”
Jacob’s story is a great reminder of how one’s perspective and drive can virtually transform an outcome, whether for better or worse. At ATI, we are proud to be by Jacob’s side as he continues his journey and hope this piece inspires you to make a positive difference in your life or others around you.