CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - A friendly competition on the ice between first responders took a terrifying turn after one former New York Police Department officer went into cardiac arrest. Weeks later, that officer is thanking the team who saved his life, including his teammates.
Former NYPD officer Joe Gomes has a wealth of experience in responding to traumatic events over his 20-year career, including providing critical support to first responders at Ground Zero in the initial months after the terrorist attack in New York City on 9/11.
Earlier in September, he was hit with a new kind of challenge — surviving cardiac arrest.
“I remember passing out and then I remember waking up and there being no sense of time lost so, to me, it was moments, not minutes,” said Gomes.
Gomes was taking part in a hockey game between South Florida first responders on the 25th anniversary of 9/11.
He and fellow players on the ice quickly realized something was wrong.
“When I collapsed on the ice, I was conscious. I actually laid down because I didn’t feel right,” said Gomes.
The friendly competition was quickly set aside as first responders on both teams jumped into action.
“Somebody just went down on the ice,” said Coral Springs Fire Department Captain Chris Loy.
Some immediately began performing chest compressions while others cut off his protective hockey gear and used a defibrillator to restart his heart.
Medical professionals said despite the scary situation, if something like this was going to happen, it couldn’t have happened in a better place.
“Thank God this was a tournament that had — full of first responders everywhere you could see, right? So if this is going to happen anywhere, it couldn’t be more perfect,” said Broward Health Coral Springs Chief of Emergency Medicine Gary Lai.
Gomes was quickly transported from the ice to Broward Health Coral Springs.
His ordeal did not end at the ice rink — Gomes suffered a second cardiac attack while he was in the emergency room.
Medical teams rushed him into the operating room where doctors managed to successfully insert a stent into his heart.
“He did very, very, very well. Very, very small heart attack. Time is usually saving the muscle so he didn’t have any significant losses. His heart muscle is fine,” said Dr. Ashraf El Shalakany, who performed the procedure.
To Gomes’ surprise, he was cleared to leave the hospital and return home the next day.
Once he got the all-clear, he knew he had to see the team who helped make his miraculous recovery possible.
“It was quite the reaction. We’ll leave out the expletives but, like basically, ‘How are you here?'” said Gomes.
While reuniting with his medical team, he also shared a message to everyone who helped him.
“Thank you, a million times thank you. You can’t say it enough,” said Gomes.
Gomes said he plans on returning to the ice for another game on Saturday. While he won’t be playing, he will be part of the action as a referee.
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